Sometimes, It's Who You Know That Counts
by MisfitChick
Summary: The lesser known adventures of the Winchesters and friends. Pre Series and beyond. Gave M rating due to language and later chapters. Give me a chance?
1. Intro

The Winchesters can't be the only family that hunts, can they?

This story came to me in pieces. I decided to leave them that way. It's told sometimes from Jax Harris's point of view, sometimes from Deans, sometimes from Sam's.

The story only takes place when they're together.

Crosses over with Buffy in spots. It's actually how this story got started, was a piece I was working on with a friend for a Buffy story she was writing, the plot bunny attacked me and here we are.

Give it a shot. Tell me how bad you think it is, and let me know if I should torture you with the rest of it. Eighteen chapters so far, once I write the ending… who knows how many there will be. Which ending a story is not as easy as you'd think.

Damn bunnies.

**Disclaimer--I own nothing but Jax and anyone else you don't recognize. The rest, I'm borrowing. And who wouldn't want to! **

Bless Kripke, but all hail Joss. I substituted some of Kripke's universe with Joss's. In cases of certain demons, vampires and hellhounds. At that point in the time line of Supernatural, they didn't know about the other type anyway.

Also, anyone interested in helping me make this a better story… feel free to e-mail me. Because this is being done for fun.

Flirts with the time line of all shows involved, but doesn't really change any of them right away. May go AU later.


	2. Meet Jax And Dean

Chapter One Jax and Dean

Jacqueline Harris, who everyone just called Jax, sat silently, staring out the passenger window at the passing scenery. The sleek black sedan glided along the two lane highway, with her father behind the wheel, with a classic rock song filling the car with it's guitar riffs. They were heading to her Aunt Rosa's in Chicago for Christmas. Her mother's sister and family. Normally, her and her dad would stay home, exchange gifts and spend the rest of the day doing their own things, but Aunt Rosa often insisted that Jax come to spend time with the family of the mother she never got to know. Going to Chicago meant a houseful of people, pranks played by her cousins, Vincent and Mick and constant noise. She had grown up with it, but she valued the quiet time her dad's house offered.

She glanced over at her father. He stared straight ahead, singing along quietly with the radio. She smiled softly, and leaned back in the chair. She wondered if when people saw them, they ever really got the idea that they weren't completely quote un quote normal. By day, Tom Harris was a successful self made business man, and she was a 15 year old high school cheerleader preparing to take the next steps to college. Nights and weekends, they hunted in the supernatural world. Taking down the things that went bump in the night.

Jax knew that normal people had no idea was what really out there hiding in the dark, and sometimes in plain sight. Vampires, demons and a whole host of other things that were best believed only existed in horror movies. She got her first taste of that world when she was a baby, and a demon took her mother.

At 7, she got curious what kept her dad gone on the weekends. She had become accomplished at becoming practically invisible when she needed to be and hearing things her dad tried so hard to keep her from hearing. The whispered conversations she heard around her house, both frightened and excited her. If what her dad's friends told him, and what he talked about on the phone was real, she wanted to see it.

She started snooping around her dad's office to find out what kept him in there for hours at a time, and found his stash of weapons and books. With her dad away on another so called business trip and the nanny happy that she was quiet and reading a book, she began to learn what it was that kept her dad away sometimes. She had read most of them by the time her dad returned. She smiled remembering him walking in the room being surprised to see her sitting there, with his books spread around her like a little fort. Without waiting for him to ask what she was doing, Jax calmly looked at her dad, and asked him if he had gotten the poltergeist or not. Her dad stood silently for a long minute before nodding his head slowly.

"_Yes."_

"_Was It scary?"_

"_A little."_

"_I want to help."_

And that is how Jax started to hunt. Her dad enrolled her in martial arts, mainly Silat and Krav Maga classes, taught her firearms, introduced her to a friend who taught her sword fighting and let her in on the supernatural world. She spent most of time practicing weapons, martial arts and doing research, while other girls her age were playing dress up and house. Jax never bemoaned the loss of play time, in her mind, what she was doing was far more interesting.

She also got to meet other hunters. No longer having to see them from a distance when they came to her house. Now, her dad took her places they gathered, or to individuals houses. They were nice men deep down, each had their stories to tell about how they started to hunt, which she had always learned of by eavesdropping on conversations. They wouldn't tell her much when she asked, they just saw her as kid, but Jax was determined to learn everything she could, even if that meant having to rely on her covert skills to do it.

She had also noticed there weren't a lot of women involved with hunting. Usually when she ran across one, it was a girlfriend of one of the hunters, and they weren't involved with the discussions or chose not to be. That fact was hard for Jax to understand. How could you be involved with hunting and not want to know everything about what was out there. But those women had their own stories and either gave in to their fear or their weakness and let the men in their lives make the choices about it.

She had met the flipside to the mild mannered women. The very few that did participate in the discussions, were bold, self-assured women who had lost a loved one to something evil and with nothing else to keep them home, went out and hunted things down.

As much as she loathed to give up her quiet time at home, going to her Aunt's also meant more opportunities to learn about that world. They knew about the other realm and did what they could. Her eldest cousin Mick was a gifted warlock. Walking into a room with him, Jax could feel the power he had. He doted on his cousin, showing her simple spells, teaching her the basics of magic and charms. No question she asked was ever considered stupid, and he was ever so patient while she learned how to cast her own spells.

Her dad turned down the radio, and glanced over at his daughter.

"You ok, kid?"

"I'm fine." She answered with a smile. "Just watching stuff out the window."

"We're almost to Red Bluff."

"That where Winchester is today?" she picked up the file of information she had pulled at her dad's request, and gave it a last going over. The topic of conversation she had heard about, but had yet to meet. She'd seen the Winchester boys several times before, usually from a distance at Pastor Jim's. They were playing in the creek behind the church when her and her dad had stopped by to drop off a book Jim had requested. It seemed Jim often kept an eye on the boys for John when he deemed the hunt too dangerous for the boys to accompany him.

"Yeah." He answered and she nodded thinking about the man in question.

"That man gives a new meaning to the word obsessed." She grinned at her dad, who chuckled.

"He's stubborn, I'll grant you that." Her father replied, she inwardly chuckled hearing that. Stubborn was a term used to describe a mule. John Winchester was far beyond that. Since finding out what killed his wife, the man was relentless in his pursuit of all things evil. And in that pursuit, had raised his boys to be warriors. Jax wasn't sure what kind of father he was, but it seemed to her a little unfair that they weren't given the choice to follow this life. She had chosen it, her dad on occasion had insisted that she not get involved, but in the end, he conceded that it was better off that she knew about that world and all that it entailed from him, rather than going out on her own and possibly getting herself into trouble.

"Are the boys with him?" she asked after a moment.

"I'd imagine they are. Why?"

"I brought them presents." She said as if he was suppose to know that.

"Really?"

"Yes. It is almost Christmas." He dad laughed at her tone.

"Ok. Down girl." Tom chuckled. "What did you get them?"

"Got 'em both hooded sweat shirts. Last time we saw them at Jim's, noticed the ones they had were a little thin. I got Sam a book. And Dean a walkman."

"That was nice of you."

"From what I heard, they don't get much in the way of Christmas."

"You hear a lot of things, don't you?"

"Yep."

"How much do you hear on purpose?"

"I ain't telling." She cracked a grin when her dad glanced over at her.

"Of course you won't." his smile dropped a little. "Look, John's hard to get to know, don't be surprised if he doesn't talk a whole lot."

"It's alright. I'll let the grown ups" she made finger quotes with a grin. "talk, I'll look after the boys for a bit." Jax smiled. "And if they don't need it, I've got plenty of stuff in here to keep me busy while you and John talk shop."

"You're a good girl."

"Yeah, Just remember you said that when it comes to getting to my driver's license." He laughed loudly.

"Ok, kid."

She returned her attention to the scenery passing by, a thought occurred to her and she looked back at her dad.

"Does John know?"

"About you?" her dad looked over, and she nodded. "No. You know we have to keep that secret."

"I know, dad. It's just, you told Pastor Jim."

"He noticed something you did at the church one day, asked me about it."

"Sorry, dad. Didn't know anyone had seen me. I was trying to help." She looked guilty thinking of the only day she could remember that he would be talking about. When she saw the broken pew in the back of the church, and decided to mend it for Jim. Only she used a spell that Mick had taught her to do it. Jax had some natural talent for spells, and her father asked her to keep that particular piece of information to be kept secret. As other hunters may not see it as such a good thing.

"I know, hon. And you're careful about it. I'm not angry, Jim's a good man and he can keep a secret."

"But he doesn't know about her, right?" she thought of her twin sister Lex. The families most closely guarded secret and worried it was out there.

"Right."

"Ok." She relaxed back into her chair. "I called her yesterday. Told her we were going to Rosa's. She didn't say whether or not she was going to make it." Jax made a face recalling the conversation with her twin.

"You know she doesn't like to fly."

"But you'd think she'd want to see me." Jax pouted a little, and her dad reached over and patted her knee.

"It's gonna be fine, kid." She nodded a little, staring out the window again. The fact that her sister was far more talented in the magic department wasn't what bothered Jax, it was that her sister had chosen to chase that talent and because of it, she lived in Europe with a coven of witches rather than with her and dad.

They arrived in Red Bluff and pulled into the parking lot of the motel that John Winchester and his boys were at. Across the street was a park, two boys were playing tag in the park, upon closer inspection, it was the younger boy chasing the older for his toy. There was a solitary man on the bench, not far from the boys. Jax nudged her dad and nodded her head in the direction.

"Guess he's meeting you over there."

"Looks like." Tom pulled a bag out of the back of the sedan, Jax grabbed her bag, the file, handing it to her dad and then grabbed the presents for the boys, putting them in her bag as they walked across the street and headed for the park. Jax kept an eye on the man as they approached. She noticed the smooth way his hand went into his coat, she knew for a weapon, while appearing not to notice their approach. She saw a bottle of whiskey sitting on the bench next to him, along with a stack of books.

Jax glanced over at the boys, smiling at the sight of them playing together, as she kept up with her dad. They came to stand by John, who had eased his hand back out of his jacket and looked up at Tom with a slight smile.

"Tom. I appreciate you coming."

"I was rolling through the neighborhood anyway." Tom smiled shaking John's hand. "This is my daughter, Jackie. But we call her Jax."

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Winchester."

"Just John, hon." He gave her a small smile which she returned. "Those two are my boys. Dean and Sammy." She turned and looked at them still running. The older one obviously keeping something from the younger one again. "Dean, give that back to Sam."

"I'm just playing with him, Dad." The older boy said then came to a halt seeing the people standing there. Sam used the distraction to snatch back his toy. Jax kept an eye on them, but settled near her dad, and pulled a book from her bag. Having heard about the boys from Pastor Jim, she knew in a moment or two, Dean's curiosity would get the better of him and he'd be over. She didn't have to wait long, he walked up and stared at her.

"Who are you?"

"Jax." she glanced up at the suspicious look in those hazel eyes that stared at her.

"I'm Dean."

"I guessed when your dad yelled at you."

"He didn't yell."

"Yes he did."

"You don't know what my dad yelling sounds like." He defended, loudly. Causing both fathers too look up at them.

"Honey, why don't you and Dean take the argument over on the picnic table." hers said gently. She nodded.

"K, Dad." She got up leaving Dean where he was and going to the picnic table. Dean came over, and sat across from her. He stared at her for a minute, waiting for her look up. When she didn't, he took her book. 

Then she looked up. "You can give it back now."

"Come take it from me." She rolled her eyes, as he stood up and stepped back preparing to run.

"You're such a boy."

"Chicken?"

"No."

"Then come take it." She looked at him now standing five feet from her. Glancing back at her dad, she saw he was busy and then slowly got up, looking at him.

"You can give it back now, or in two minutes."

"Oooh I'm scared." He wiggled the book in the air and smirked.

"You will be." She took off, he started running the second he saw her take off, but she was faster than he had been ready for, she caught up to him in no time and put a hand on his shoulder, spinning him around when she suddenly stopped. He tripped, and fell on the ground hard. She bent over and picked up her book with a smile.

"Thank you." Then she turned around and went back to the table, where Sam was now sitting kicking his feet back and forth.

"Hi. You must be Sam." She said as she sat next to him. He looked up at her curiously. "I'm Jax. That's my dad, Tom over there."

"I know Tom." He said as if she was stupid.

"Ok." She chuckled slightly as he looked so cute saying it.

"Jax is a weird name for a girl." Sam announced suddenly.

"Yeah. Guess it is." She grabbed her bag, pulling out the presents she brought, as she put it in front of him she smiled at his confused expression. "I got ya something. Merry Christmas, Sam."

"You got me a present?" Sam stared at the brightly wrapped box, then looked over at her.

"Whatcha do that for, you don't know Sam." Dean said standing next to his brother, his expression distrustful. She just smiled softly and grabbed the other present.

"Got one for you too, Sparky." She held it towards him, he eyed the package warily. "It won't bite." He took it and stared at it as if he had X-Ray vision. She turned her attention back to her book and resumed reading until she heard Sam ripping open the wrapping paper. She held her smile to soft, and looked over at Sam. He pulled the book out, looking it over with a smile.

"This looks cool." Sam declared.

"Jim said you might like that."

"You know Pastor Jim?" Sam's smile was so sweet, it was all she could do not to hug him right then.

"Yes. And I've seen both of you at his place."

"You did not." Dean argued, she looked across the table at the young man.

"Ask Jim next time you see him, if you don't believe me."

"I will."

"I have no doubt." She grinned at him, which made him narrow his eyes at her slightly. "You gonna open your present or not?"

"What is it? A book?"

"Only way you know for sure is to open it."

"Witch."

"Weenie." She shot back, and he looked surprised to hear her fire an insult back, then he smirked.

"Dork."

"Moron."

"Idiot." He leaned in and she mimicked his action.

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

"Asswipe." He almost laughed, she grinned and sat back a little, holding his stare until he looked away. She grinned and looked over at Sam. "What do you think of your book, Sam?"

"It's got a ton of stories in here."

"Yep."

"Is this your address?" Sam pointed to the inside cover.

"Yep. In case you want to write a letter."

"You'd write back?"

"Sure would, Sam."

"Neat." He answered happily and kept looking at the book. She grinned and pulled some paper out of her 

bag, along with some markers. "Wanna draw with me, Sam?" he stared at the paper for a minute and then at his book. He shrugged.

"Ok." He took the offered paper and chose a blue marker.

"Ok." She smiled and started to sketch with a pen. She glanced up at Dean who had his eyes narrowed at her, he was thinking again. One finger was tapping on the present, while he watched her.

"Why are you here? Tom's never brought you before."

"Not that you noticed." She replied airily and watched as that comment sunk in. He continued to stare at her, sulking she pushed some paper in front of him without a word and continued what she was doing. It took him a minute, but he picked up the marker and started to draw. She smiled to herself. Half an hour later, Sam pronounced his picture was done, and he was hungry. Jax saw her dad and John were still busy with all the information.

She looked over at Dean who was staring at his dad. When she looked over, she saw John setting the bottle down. She glanced back at Dean whose expression was now very different than the mocking boy he'd been a half hour ago. Putting a smile on, she looked at Sam.

"Well, what are we going to do about that, Baby Boy?" she asked Sam, who was picking up the papers.

"I don't know. Can't bother dad."

"Hang on a sec." Jax gave Sam a smile as she got up and went over to her dad. "Dad, I hate to bother you."

"No problem, sweetheart. What do you need?"

"I need some money. I'm gonna go get us something to eat."

"Ok." He got out his wallet and handed her some.

"Do you want me to get anything for you and John?"

"Nothing for me, honey. John?" The man looked up startled at the request.

"No. I'm fine. Thank you." Jax raised an eyebrow at his answer. The man looked like he hadn't been eating at all. She glanced at her dad who wasn't looking at her anymore then back at John. Eyeing him critically.

"Is it ok for me to take Sam and Dean with me, John?" he looked up surprised, she gave him her sweetest smile.

"Sure. Just don't expect Dean to behave."

"Ok." She laughed lightly and went back to where Sam was sitting waiting for her, he had put his hoodie on, and was swinging his legs back and forth again. She picked up her bag and smiled. "Come on Sam."

"Where we going?"

"To the diner over there." She pointed across the street at the diner and down two blocks.

"Ok."

"You coming Dean?" She stood waiting for him to look up at her.

"With you?"

"No with the moon man. Of course with me."

"Why would I want to go anywhere with you?" she smiled at his brooding expression.

"Fine. Stay here. Maybe now you'll open your present." She reached her hand out to Sam. "Ready?"

"Yep." Sam put his hand in hers and let her lead him across the park to the sidewalk. As they walked down the sidewalk, she heard footsteps pounding behind her. She looked up as Dean caught up and then ran past them. She smiled as she shook her head, he had opened the present. Like Sam, Dean was wearing the sweat shirt and she saw the walkman in his pocket. Boys could be so tiresomely stubborn.

They went into the diner and sat down. The waitress came over.

"What can I get for you, kids?"

"I'll have a grilled cheese sandwich. Sam, do you know what you want?"

"Same as you."

"Ok. How about some fries too?"

"Yeah." He said happily, Jax gave the waitress a smile who smiled back. Then both looked over at Dean.

"I'll have a hamburger and fries."

"Drinks?"

"Soda." Dean said. Jax nodded.

"Same for me and Sam." The waitress wrote it down. "Oh and can I please get a grilled cheese and fries to go also?" the waitress nodded and left the table. Sam was thumbing through his book, smiling to himself.

"Want to read with me till the food gets here, Sam?"

"Yeah."

"Pick a story." He did and Jax started reading, ignoring Dean who rolled his eyes. They read one story and were on the second one when the waitress came back with their food. Jax thanked her and put the book between her and Sam. They ate silently for a bit, then Sammy touched her arm.

"Can we read while we eat?" She was about to answer when Dean answered in an irritated voice.

"You can't read while you eat."

"Dad does all the time." Sam shot back.

"You're not dad."

"Neither are you."

"Yes, Sam. We can read while we eat." Jax injected into the escalating argument, pointedly ignoring Dean, which earned her a scowl. She smiled softly and turned her attention to the book.

By the time they were done with the second story, Sam was done eating and was looking at her to read another one. Jax smiled, reaching out a hand to brush his hair back from his face. Sam hugged her suddenly. She smiled softly and hugged him back. Dean rolled his eyes and got up.

"You two are boring." He declared, as he put the headphones on, then left the diner. Jax just sighed and read Sam another story. When they finished, she paid the bill and they left heading back to the park. She went up and put the box of take out on the book that John was reading, forcing him to look up at her, she motioned to the box.

"You have to eat something, John. If you're gonna hunt stuff, you can't do it on an empty stomach and Jack Daniels." he looked surprised and her father stifled a laugh. She just pointed to the box again with the sternest look she could manage. To her surprise, John opened the box and grabbed a couple fries. She watched him pop them in his mouth and chew. "Better. Thank you."

Satisfied, Jax went to settle by the tree a little bit away from them and pulled out the book again. Sam immediately sat next to her, leaning on her arm as she started to read another fable. Out of the corner of her eye she saw John look up and give her a puzzled look, as if he couldn't quite understand why she would read to Sam, or he really didn't know why someone would look out for him personally. She also saw her dad glance up and smile. The difference in the two adults was startling. Both having lost their wives to the demon, but taking different paths to getting it.

She then saw Dean come up and sit on the other side of the tree, close enough to listen in, but out of sight so no one would think he was interested in what she was saying. She grinned and kept reading. When she saw her dad getting his things together, she smiled at Sam.

"It's time for me to go, Sam." his eyes immediately looked sad, she quickly wrote her number on the inner cover of the book under her address, as Sam hugged her arm tightly.

"No. I want you to stay."

"Wish I could, Baby Boy." She kissed his head as she closed the book. "But I'll make you a deal. You keep reading those stories and I'll talk to dad about coming to see you again. Then you can tell me which one was your favorite." He looked at the book and then at her for a long moment, before nodding slightly.

"Ok." he hugged her tightly, she hugged him back. "Do you promise to write?" he asked quietly. She bent her head and whispered,

"I promise. You write to me, and I'll write back." He squeezed her again and let go. She mussed his hair, with a soft smile. "I put my number in there." She said quietly. "You need anything, to talk or whatever, you can call me." Sam nodded understanding. and stood up just as her dad was standing.

"Jax, you ready?"

"Yeah." Sam hugged the book to him and waved sadly. She waved back and walked to the car with her dad. "Is Dean always such a heathen?" Her dad laughed and put his arm around her.

"You handled him well. I was really impressed with how you handled him and reading to Sam."

"He so sad. You can feel it standing next to him."

"Yeah..That family…it's complicated."

"I gave Sam our address and phone number. If he calls, can I go and see him?"

"I don't see why not." Her dad said after a moment. "Might be good for him."

She looked back waving again at Sam, then seeing Dean standing behind him. She waved at him too. She laughed when he flipped her the bird.


	3. A Few Years Later Getting To Know You

Page 18

Chapter Two A Few Years Later. Getting To Know You.

Jax was tiring out quickly, but there was no stopping now. In a moment of respite, she had rethought her decision to corner the hell hound in the basement of an abandoned house. Aside from smelling badly, the basement was dimly light by the lantern she had set near the doorway and the ceiling was almost too low for her swing her sword properly. Another decision she was beginning to regret. A tranquilizer gun would have been a better bet in here. She could have knocked it out, tagged it and tracked it from a distance.

'But no.' she thought to herself, 'Just had to prove you could hold her own in a fight with the creature.' All because her father had dared to question her ability to do so, and of course, she couldn't let him think she was scared or inept. That would have been worse than this. She'd never be allowed to hunt again. At least not with him. Being 20 had some advantages, but she wasn't ready to hunt on her own yet.

The snarling hell hound was looking to make her dinner and she reset her determination to hack the beast to pieces before that could happen. It swiped at her, connecting with her arm.

"Damn it!" She swung hard, slicing it at the shoulder. "Take this you fuckin mutt." she slashed at it several more times, getting hit once more. "Son of a bitch! You're pissing me off you overgrown," she swung again, connecting with it's body making it yelp."Fleabag!"

From seemingly out of no where, there was gunfire. Two shots. One bounced off the wall to the left of her, the next one hitting the hound. The hell hound dropped to the ground, whimpering and twitching. She looked up stunned at the silhouette of a guy standing there in the dim light of the stairwell. He held the gun in his hand and she could feel him eyeing her up. She could only stare at him blankly for the moment. Then he stepped down another step into the light.

Approximately six feet tall, handsome face, nice build. He could be about her age, hard to tell in the dim lighting. There was something familiar about him, the way he was looking at her now.

"What the hell!?" she yelled looking at the now twitching hound then over at the wall where the bullet had struck. Jax then turned her attention back to the man standing on the staircase with the gun.

"Hey, it's dead." he holstered the weapon, his eyes locking with hers.

"You could've shot me, you lunatic!" she put her sword in the sheath at her side, and put her hands on her hips.

"Not a chance, toots."

"Toots?" she repeated the name incredulously. "What are you? Mobster?"

"I just saved your ass, sweets. You might wanna be a touch more grateful." he came off the stairs, the light hitting his face a little more.

"Sweets?" She fought the distraction of his looks and gripped her sword tighter. "Do I look like a bimbette to you?" Jax stared at him. Be damned if he didn't look like someone she'd seen before. She just couldn't place where. "I'd be more grateful if you didn't almost shoot me."

"Don't get all misty eyed over the save, by the way." the sarcasm in his voice seemed to fit him well.

"Sorry. Tend to get nervous when little boys have possession of weapons."

"I'll show you little boy." she snorted at the cocky tone and stepped over the hell hound, getting a closer look at the mystery man. She sighed finally recognizing him by the mocking expression in his hazel eyes. Of all the luck, Sam's brother. Dean. He was more handsome than the pictures Sam had of him. Sad that he was arrogant.

She was about to let him know that she knew who he was, when the hound snarled again, and twitched, she grabbed the gun from his holster and shot it once in the head. It fell back to the cement, and she nodded satisfied that it was now dead for sure. He stared at her as she put the gun back in his holster.

"Make yourself at home, Princess."

"Well, at least I know it's dead this time, Sparky."

"It wasn't gonna get up." He defended.

"Winchester." the resigned tone in her voice, made him look at her suspiciously. He might be Sam's brother, but he did almost shoot her, and then call her toots. She didn't have to be happy about it.

"We know each other?" he suddenly looked worried.

"We've met." Her curt response made him cringe as she brushed past him, and started up the stairs. She heard him swear softly. Jax shook her head as he started up after her.

"Look, if we slept together or something..."

"Oh do get over yourself." she laughed incredulously as she came off the basement steps back out into the night, seeing her dad and John standing there.

"Well, I see Dean found Jax." John said, and Tom chuckled. Jax stopped a few feet from the elder men, narrowing her eyes, and putting her hands on her hips.

"The moron could've hit me!" she looked at her dad. "Who thought it was a good idea to give him a gun?"

"I did." John said, she just sighed, then seeing Dean twirling it like some western movie gun slinger,

"Aw..for crying out loud." she shook her head, throwing her hands up slightly as she headed off to the car. She heard her dad talking.

"She's just startled. She'll calm down in a minute." she stopped and looked at her dad, disbelief evident in her face.

"Calm down nothing! I was gonna track that thing!" she stalked back and stood in front of her dad, irritation evident in her features.

"Track it?" Dean looked at her as if she'd sprung another head. She stepped over to him, staring him in the eyes.

"Yeah. Track it." He looked confused still, and she resisted the urge to smack him one. "Ya know. Back to it's trainer."

"They have trainers?" his questioning tone, caused Jax to look at him in amazement.

"What are you? New?" Jax's sarcastic comment surprised her dad. She shook her head and continued to the car.

"I better go look at her arm." Tom said.

"I'll do it." she heard Dean's voice and was surprised. She grabbed the bag out of the trunk with her uninjured arm, and opened it. He came over, taking it from her.

"You can't do this by yourself."

"I'll manage." she said snatching it back from him, going to the front of the car.

"Tough chick, huh?" he leaned on the car watching her rummage in the bag, setting things out.

"Tough enough." she said as she ripped the sleeve off her shirt. Dean watched her intently, the smirk lessened but still present. She went around to the drivers side, and turned on the headlights. Saying nothing more, she got down on one knee, putting her arm in the lights of the car. Reaching up, she grabbed the water bottle, and poured it over the wound. Seeing three sets of claw marks, she sighed. "That's gonna feel pretty."

"It'll go well with the tough chick image." He had that smirk again, she glanced up at him, starting to think it was a permanent expression for him and shook her head. "Maybe you can get a tattoo to go with it." He added, the amused tone made her almost smile.

Grabbing the jar off the hood of the car, she managed to get the lid off and sprinkled it on the wounds. When she had it done, she looked at her dad, and nodded. He chanted a couple words, the powder lit up and the wounds closed up quickly. Jax had her eyes shut tightly, swore loudly, then she sighed once it was done.

"God that sucks." Jax stood slowly, Dean stood up quickly, staring at her arm, which now looked unharmed, leaving only faint scars behind.

"What the hell was that?" his eyes were wide looking at her arm and then over at her dad.

"Healing courtesy of Marny. Better than a hospital." She grinned as she poured water over it again to wash away the remaining blood. "Thanks dad."

"Jax." Dean said finally. She paused from picking up to look over at him.

"What?"

"I just remembered your name." he smiled.

"Call the press." she was staring at him, one hand on her hip. "The elevator does go all the way to the top." He was about to say something but caught her grin.

"You always this bitchy?"

"Sometimes worse."

"God help us."

"No help for ya." She packed up the bag and watched him work that one over.

"What have I ever done to you?"

"Aside from almost shooting me?" she raised a brow at him, an easy smile on her face.

"I wasn't even close."

John and Tom stood back watching the two of them bicker back and forth. It sounded bitter, but as they listened, they could hear their voice were laced with a strong edge of good natured humor.

"If we're gonna keep running into each other out here, we might consider earplugs." Tom said with a grin, John nodded slightly as they watched Dean scowl at the comment she made and fling another insult at her.

"You might be right."

The fathers watched the insult match come to a halt, as Jax strapped her sword to her waist again and grabbed a rifle out of the trunk. She checked the chamber, nodding slightly. She rummaged in the trunk again, grabbed a box with an antenna on it, looking it over before stuffing it in her bag and then slung the bag over her shoulder with a determined expression.

"Now, what are you doing?" Dean asked as he stood, eyeing up the rifle.

"There's more of those things, you wanna let them run around loose?"

"You're taking the sword and the rifle?" he looked at her like she'd lost her mind.

"You got a better way of putting a tracking beacon on it?" she stood, staring at him daring him to come up with something. He just shrugged slightly, his head tilting slightly.

"No."

"Hush then." She went over to her dad. "I'll be back." he saw the determination in her features and knew there was nothing he could say to change her mind. So he nodded slightly and patted her shoulder lovingly.

"Careful."

"Always am." she gave her dad a sharp nod, then started off by herself, Dean caught up.

"You can't go by yourself."

"Yes I can." Jax never turned to look at him, just kept walking towards the woods. He blew out a breath and stopped.

"You're crazy."

"Whichever, dude." she kept walking. He watched her go into the darkness of the woods, then turned to go back. He stopped, looking back again. Knowing he couldn't let her go alone, he rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration as he checked his gun and went in after her.

He almost ran into her as she stood silently and waited for him to catch up. She grinned and shook her head.

"Stealth is not in your vocabulary, is it?"

"Whatever."

"Sounded like a pack of elephants coming this way." She grinned and started forward again. He saw her looking very closely at the ground every few feet or so.

"What the hell are you doing now?" His question sounded half annoyed, half amused.

"Lost the other hound in here somewhere." She said checking out a sapling. "Wanted to know which way it went."

"You realize it's pitch black out here."

"Moon's out and see that?" She pointed at the ground, a trail of blood could be seen on the leaves. "That's the hounds blood. I got one in, sent him running."

"Yeah..so?"

"If I didn't catch a major artery, I can follow it back." she kept walking, he was staring at her like she was insane. Maybe he was cause he was following her.

"You keep talking about tracking it."

"Hounds like these don't stray too far from their owners." she said still looking around. "Usually a vamp or demon control them, but certain foolish mortals take it into their heads to train these critters." she crouched to the ground, examining a plant in the dim light. "Either way, the hell hound won't stray from it's owner. And when it's injured, it'll beat feet for home." She stood up and started moving forward again. Dean had known all that. Tom had told John the same thing. Almost word for word.

"So, you do research with your dad?"

"For him." she corrected. "But I've recently decided I was tired of the books. Wanted to come out and experience it for myself."

"Cause it's a party." Dean's sarcastic comment earned a look of amusement from her.

"A regular fiesta." he smirked at her comment, she looked him up and down. "You must be the dip." He frowned, she smirked then turned to keep tracking. Dean stared at her back, but kept following her.

"So...we didn't see you again." He said after several minutes had gone by. She looked back at him, soft smile on her face.

"You mean you didn't." She said as she crouched down to examine something, the she stood up and kept moving. He grumbled a little.

"Yeah. I didn't. Sam told me you came to see him."

"Yep." Her succinct answer made him think she wasn't going to elaborate. "You and John go off on a hunt. Sam gives me a call."

"And what? You're in the area?" he questioned more curious than he let on.

"Nope. I go just to see Sam."

"Just like that?" he sounded doubtful.

"Yeah. Just like that." She was grinning, he could tell by the sound of her voice.

At the time, he didn't know how it had happened, but he knew that him and John would come home to find whatever small apartment they were in at the time thoroughly cleaned, dishes were done and put away, the laundry was done, someone had gone grocery shopping and there were meals made up in the fridge that only had to be heated. Sam would always say Jax had done it while he was sleeping. John never made a fuss of the whole thing, part of Dean thought that he left Sam home every so often just so he didn't have to deal with those things, not that he did much of that anyway. It was always left up to Dean and Sam to do the housework, grocery shopping and laundry.

What Dean remembered most about her visits was smelling what had to be her perfume on the pillow case after she had been there. It would linger there for days after. Driving him crazy.

"So...why did you send those boxes?" Again she glanced back and smiled at him before moving forward.

"Boxes?" she asked with a cheery tone to her voice. "You mean birthday presents."

"Whatever." he scoffed.

"That's what you do for friends."

"You shouldn't have."

"What?" she turned to look at him in the moonlight. "I get the clothing size wrong? Should've got small?"

"Hey!" he protested the attack on his size.

"Perhaps it wasn't the proper shade of black for you?" She was still grinning.

"I didn't say that." He insisted.

"You didn't say thank you either." She shrugged. "But no ones perfect."

"According to Sam, you are."

"Sam is a sweetheart." She said happily.

"Yeah." she laughed at his tone of voice.

"Such a petulant child." She snarked, then her look softened. "Where is my buddy, Sam?"

"He's at a friends this weekend. Some big game going on, and he wanted to go."

"Good for him." She smiled. "he needs to hang with pals of his own." Dean had nothing to say to that. He himself, hadn't enjoyed high school all that much. Sam seemed to revel in it.

"You find this thing yet, Princess?" he asked finally.

"We've been following it for 10 minutes." Her answer was simple, but he shook his head slightly.

"What?"

"It's up ahead. It knows we're here, but hasn't turned on us yet."

"You could have told me."

"Yeah. I know. But what fun would that be?"

"Bitch."

"Dork." she retorted, he scoffed but smiled, at least she had a sense of humor.

"Dink." he called back, remembering Sam called him that once, and he thought it was weird.

"Ass."

"Jerk." he was happily shooting insults back as they walked along, both fully enjoying this game, remembering the first time they started an insult war.

"Pinhead."

"Nerd."

"Piss-ant."

"Harpie." He came to walk beside her, she raised an eyebrow at that one and nudged him with her elbow.

"Wretch."

"Crone."

"Loser."

"Wimp."

"Bimbo." he said almost laughing at the face she made.

"Whore." she shot at him and grinned seeing his face.

"Reject." he had just gotten the word out when he saw something move. "Son of a bitch!" he said suddenly seeing a hell hound just ten feet from them. Jax quickly unstrapped the rifle and handed it to Dean, drawing her sword, he took the gun and they took a stance.

"Wound it only."

"Unless it tries to make me lunch."

"You're too freakin sour for him." she made another crack and he just shook his head. The hound snarled, slowly approaching.

"Game on, Princess." The hound attacked she took lead and gave it a couple slashes, keeping it at bay.

"Take a shot. Aim for hind quarters." he didn't argue, just did it. He saw an opportunity and shot. The hound howled and took off running.

"Nice shootin' Tex!" She was excited, putting her sword in his sheath and digging in her bag, coming out with a small screen with a beep coming from it. "You da man!" Jax was saying as she started to follow the hound.

"Glad to hear it, Princess." he gave a small salute, and followed mumbling under his breath. This woman was aggravating, yet he couldn't help grinning at her.

They tracked it to a house on the edge of the woods. She stayed in the shadows, watching the hound go in through a doggie door. He crouched down next to her and looked at the house.

"Now what?"

"Feeling up to a little arson?" she grinned with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you kidding?"

"Yes." she rolled her eyes as she chuckled. "Dork."

"So? You got a plan of any kind?" they watched the house, he waited for her to answer him.

"Yep." the airy tone of her voice was too chipper, and he turned his head to stare at her.

"You care to fill me in?"

"Nope." she said digging through her bag.

"And why not?"

"More fun to annoy you." Jax pushed the button on the walkie talkie. "Hey pop."

"You pain in the ass." Dean pushed her so she got off balance. She grinned.

"Yep." her dad beeped in

'_Yes, Jax?'_

"Found the house."

_Good girl. I got the signal, we're headed there.'_

"Ok." She put the walkie back in her bag and grinned at him.

"Pain in the ass." Dean muttered, his eyes still on the house.

"Part of my charm."

"Oh yeah. You're all kinds of charming." Dean glanced over at her, the light of the moon illuminating her face as she watched the house. A soft smile curled her lips.

She looked better than the picture that Sam kept in his wallet. He'd seen it one day while Sam was in the shower. He was looking for the number of the local psychic that John had given him to hang on to, and found the photo. She was pretty. Didn't seem the least bit scared of what they were doing there.

When Sam talked about her, hunting was never mentioned. Just that she knew lots of things and was fun to be around. Sam spoke of her like she was a saint. He wondered what Sam would think of her if he knew what she was doing right now. Sam's dislike for the hunting was clear.

Her dad and John arrived. She came out of the woods and met up with them. Tom hugged her.

"Good idea."

"Thanks." She looked back. "Haven't seen anything or anyone moving. But that's where the hound went."

"How many?"

"Hounds?" She looked at John, who nodded. "Don't know. But so far we've seen three. One dead, one wounded."

"We gotta find out who owns the place." John said staring at the house.

"Yep." Tom nodded. "And then figure out how to deal with the hounds."

"Before they vamoose after they find the tracker." Jax hadn't stopped looking at the house.

"Time to hit the books." Tom said and turned for his car.

"Yep." John followed.

The next morning, Dean went with John to Tom and Jax's room. The place looked like it had been taken over by paper. The two room suite was one end to the other research material. They dove right into the research and hours later, Tom and John were off to get some records from the courthouse. Jax was sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed reading, Dean was on the other side at the table. He had long since given up reading and was tossing cards over her head, and into the trash can on the other side of her. She glanced up at him as another card hit the trash can.

"Would you knock it off." her attention went back to the book and Dean quirked a brow in her direction, then grinned broadly.

"Oh, she's hostile when she hasn't had her nap."

"You're screwing off." her tone was bland, like none of it mattered. She was scolding a small child.

"I've got a plan."

"What's the plan?" she looked over at him curious.

"I ain't tellin." He grinned at her and she groaned turning her attention back to the papers. "You're pretty when you're angry." he said almost sweetly. She rolled her eyes at him.

"You're changing the subject."

"You're not the subject?"

"Aw, You're a jackass." She left the room and went into the kitchen. She sat at the table staring at the papers, then at the wall, when she heard him loudly singing some heavy metal tune. She smiled at his antics in spite of herself. Finally she yelled into the other room. "You know you're obnoxious?"

"I've been told." He called back.

"By lots of people I bet." She heard him laugh.

"Nah...there's this chick, though. Kinda hot...but man what a attitude."

"You probably tried to pick her up." she was sarcastic, and heard him laugh slightly.

"Wouldn't be hard." he said she looked up at the ceiling and shook her head.

"What makes you say that?"

"She weighs practically nothing."

"Damn it, Dean." She leaned her head on the table and sighed when she heard him laugh. Jax started reading again, when he walked into the room, and sat on the chair next to her.

"Are we not talking?" She said nothing. He sighed. "Why am I the last to know these things?"

"Cause you're mentally challenged?"

"Ah, we're talking again." He smirked, she whacked him on the arm. "Hey...easy with the goods."

"I'll give you easy, right here Mr."

"Promises, promises." he said suggestively, she whacked him again. "You are entirely too violent."

"I am pissed."

"Relax."

"I'll relax later. Right now I want that freakin trainer."

"Oh really, and what are you going to do with him?" he waggled his eyebrows.

"Dinner and a freakin' movie."

"Is that one of those porn flicks?"

"You would know them all by name, wouldn't you?"

"Only cause they've been hounding me to star in them." he got up off the chair and stood behind her.

"Full of yourself today, are you?" He put his hands on her shoulders. She closed her eyes, as he started to rub them.

"You're way too tense. Gonna blow a chip." He continued the mini massage, his hands going lower on her back.

"You having fun?" she asked after a moment.

"Loads." he fluffed her hair and then sat down across from her with a smirk.

"Punk." Jax smoothed down her hair and then looked at the papers on the table again, exhaling sharply. "This guy is gonna get it when I catch up to his happy, hell dog training ass!"

"What's he gonna get?"

"A kick in the ass." She glanced up at him. "Same as your gonna get if you don't quit smirkin' at me and help me find him."

"Yes, maam." He picked up the stack of papers, and started leafing through them. He glanced up at Jax, who was tapping a pencil on the table. She flipped the paper she was reading. Dean was bored, the previous banter still running through his head. He chuckled a little and she looked up.

"Something amusing?"

"Nothing." He held his hands out to the side, then leaned back in the chair. "You're cranky." she looked over at him, rocking slightly back and forth. She put her foot underneath one of the legs and pushed it over. He toppled to the floor. Jax cracked up and kept laughing even when he got up and stalked out of the room.

"Not nice." He finally called out.

"According to you, I'm hostile." she said with a grin.

"You oughta be spanked."

"Bring it on, Winchester." he walked back into the kitchen with an evil grin, she stood up and backed away from the table. He circled around, causing her to back up towards the living room door. "You are not serious."

"You said.."

"I was kidding."

"Scared?"

"Of you?" she raised a brow, and waved a hand in his direction. "Not a chance." He took a step in her direction. "Warning, Sparky. I've got cousins way bigger than you, and I can take them."

"They let you win."

"You've never met Vincent."

He advanced on her, the two of them started wrestling. In the course of wrestling with each other, they got into some very compromising positions. He looked down at her, breathing heavily underneath him, her face flushed. She stared at him. His brain started to conjure up very different images of how she could wind up in exactly the same position. He smirked as she wiggled underneath him.

"You ready to give up?" Jax asked as she stopped struggling for a minute.

"Um, you might wanna reconsider your position first."

"I know exactly where I am." she gave him a smile. He looked at her puzzled, that was the moment of distraction she had been looking for and with a few moves, had him pinned underneath her. He grinned as he saw her straddling him, her hands holding him down, her feet had hooked themselves around his legs, he was unable to move out from under her.

"Now you got me, what are you going to do with me?"

"You give up?"

"Never give up." he said trying to get out of the hold.

"Then we're at a stale mate." she said with a smile. He tried to get out of her hold, their bodies meeting very intimately. Their eyes met, for a moment neither one moved. Jax knew the bit of wrestling had an effect on him, she could feel him hard beneath her. Very slowly, she untangled her legs, trying to avoid anymore contact. In her efforts, she didn't take into account that he didn't think their match was over. He moved fast and put her on the floor beneath him.

Again, their eyes met and held the other gaze. Both were breathing heavily and their bodies were pressed against each other, neither would give up. Their father's came in at that moment and looked at them curiously.

"Jax?"

"Hey Dad." she said not giving up yet.

"What are you two doing?" her dad sounded amused.

"Wrestling. I was gonna let him go, but he wouldn't give up." she said still staring at Dean.

"Dean." his dad's tone was stern.

"Yes Sir." He got up and helped her up.

"Dean thought he could take me. Foolish boy." Dean shot her a look, she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Kids." Tom chuckled and handed her a file. "Found your guy."

"Damn skippy!" She kissed her dads cheek, bouncing up on her toes and grinning broadly. "You da man!"

"I thought I was da man?" She glanced over her shoulder at him and gave him her bright smile.

"That was yesterday. Keep up." She retorted and went into the kitchen with the file.

The fathers made the plan, Dean and Jax were shooed from the room, as they tended to bicker back and forth distracting the fathers from their work. Dean wandered around the town, and Jax settled down in the adjoining room with a book, keeping one ear on the men in the kitchen plot to take out the guy raising the hellhounds. It seemed pretty simple, which annoyed her after all the research it took to find the guy. Bust the door down, tranquilize the man and kill the hounds. The entire operation took less than a half hour, Jax and Dean were made to play look out for the locals while their fathers did the work. Not that Jax was terribly put out by that, one encounter with the flea bitten mutts was more than enough for her, Dean on the other hand was taking it badly.

"What's the issue?" she asked watching him pace back and forth as she leaned back on the hood of the car. "We don't have to get bloody, and the problem is solved."

"I can handle stuff like this."

"I never thought you couldn't."

"Apparently, he does."

"Your dad?" she sat up straight watching him kick a rock into the woods. "Dean, it's not like this was a deeply dangerous thing to take care of. If anything it's boring."

"But he acts like.."

"My dad and him got it." Jax tried another route. "Like some hunting reunion or something. They need the simple job, in case they meet up with something harder down the line."

"They have a fight or something?"

"God only knows." She tried not to smile seeing that his anger was quickly running out replaced by curiosity. "Dad would only say that sometimes, John was a son of a bitch to work with." Dean chuckled hearing that. "I take it that's nothing new to you?"

"Dad tends to piss off a lot of people."

"I've heard that."

"He's not a bad guy.." Dean started to defend.

"Didn't say he was." She smiled. "My dad ain't all sunshine and light either." Dean nodded at that. The conversation was halted seeing their father's returning to the car. "Guess we're done here."

"Yeah."

Later on in the evening. She was playing pool in the bar her dad stopped at. She didn't even see Dean walk in, and come to the back by the table. The guy she was playing was flirting heavily, which didn't bother her in the slightest, she knew it wasn't going anywhere. Aside from being her father's age, there was a wedding band on his hand, he was more than happy to ignore, but she never would.

"You and me could take off and have ourselves a good time." The man said putting his arm around her shoulders. Jax ducked out of his grasp and smiled sweetly.

"I'm sure your wife would love to join us." He looked stunned, she pointed at his hand indicating his ring.

"It don't mean a thing."

"Now, that's sad."

"You and I could still have ourselves some fun."

"I'm sure in your mind we will. But I won't be going anywhere with a moral degenerate such as yourself."

"You're a bitch."

"Oh, she's aware of that." The man whipped his head in Dean's direction. He was leaning against the pole, with that smirk firmly in place. Jax smiled and shook her head. She ambled over a little with a grin.

"You wanna go, Sparky?" she said stepping closer to him, he came off the pole, and stood face to face an inch away from her.

"You couldn't handle me." Dean said noticing the man walking off to hit on some bimbo in the corner.

"In your little dreams."

"He's gone." his eyes hadn't left hers. She stood still holding his gaze with a slight smile. The tension between them was definitely of the friendly variety. He smiled thinking what she'd do if he kissed her right now.

"I know."

"So. We gonna stand here all night, or am I kicking your ass in pool?"

"Rack it." She said stepping back, he swaggered over and started racking up the balls, grinning at her while he did it.

"You are going down."

"Ya know, the cockier you are, the shorter it is."

"Brave words from the princess." She shot him a look at the nickname. It was the third time she remembered him calling her that. "Did I hit a nerve?"

"Nope."

"Break."

"With pleasure."

They played for an hour, trading insults and wins. Both being tied at the end of the night in wins. When they went by Tom, Jax could see that her dad was busy flirting with the bartender.

"Take me back to the motel?"

"Are you flirting with me now?" she shot him a look and he laughed. "Sure thing, Princess." Jax chuckled and went over to her dad, telling him that Dean was taking her back. He nodded and hugged his daughter. With a wave to Dean, Tom turned his attention back to the bartender.

They were walking out, a new round of trading good natured insults had just began, when she was grabbed from behind.

"You and me got some unfinished business." she heard the switchblade knife, Dean saw it and stopped in his tracks.

"Let her go."

"Mind your own business, junior." He snarled at Dean. She just smiled and grabbed the man's arm, with a move of her hips she tossed him over and he landed on his back, looking stunned. The knife skittering out of reach.

"Didn't your mama ever tell you it's not nice to grab a lady?" her voice was sugar sweet.

"You little bitch!" he got up and took a swing at her, she dodged and whacked him on the back sending him into the nearest car.

"Now. You got two choices, sweet cheeks. Get a cab and go home to your wife. Or..." She inspected her nails nonchalantly, "You can take another swing at me and I'll be forced to kick your ass." She then eyed him evenly.

"What, you're gonna have your boyfriend kick my ass?" he said as he picked himself up the ground.

"I don't need a man to kick _your_ ass."

"You got this, Princess?" Dean asked now leaning against the hood of a truck.

"I'm all shades of good." she said not taking her eyes off the man, who was edging closer to her.

"Ok." Dean stood back, curious as to what kind of fighter she was. The man was drunk enough that he didn't think she'd get hurt, and he was there. So he wasn't worried.

The man came at her, grabbing her arm and twisting it. He had some martial art skill, but Jax didn't appear worried. She stood calmly, as the man snarled in her ear.

"What cha gonna do now, Princess." Dean saw the slow smile appear, and he got nervous. She reached back and grabbed the man's package hard, then twisted her hand.

"I'm thinking of making you sing soprano. What do you think? Feel like doing Madame Butterfly?" The man groaned, letting go of Jax's arm, which she immediately elbowed him in the face with. He fell to the ground, holding himself with one hand and his other holding his nose. "And he's the only one that gets to call me Princess."

"You broke my nose."

"Warned you." She stood back. "Can't blame me for you being a idiot." She looked back at Dean. "We rollin?"

"Yeah." he grinned and motioned to the car. "Your chariot awaits, Princess."

"You're lucky I like you." she grinned at his comment as she walked over, he was smiling broadly, holding the door open for her. Once she was settled, he shut it and went around and got in, looking across the car at her.

"You're ok for a chick."

"Glad to know I have your approval." She leaned back as he started the car. He drove for a mile and half saying nothing, then turned down the radio and looked over at her.

"So. You've never come with Tom before. Why now?"

"Like I said.. got tired of being research chick. Decided to come out and see it first hand." She looked over at him staring at the road ahead. "And then Dad got worried about me at home alone all the time." she said looking out the window. "Never mind that I'm an adult."

"You weren't alone before?"

"No. Linda, my step mom was there." she glanced over at him, her thoughts falling on the woman her dad married, she was a nice enough lady. But Jax hadn't really gotten that close to her.

"She left?"

"Died."

"Sorry."

"It's alright. She was sick for a long time." Jax sighed. "It's better this way. She's not suffering anymore." Jax fell into silence then.

"So, Princess." He started, she glanced over with a grin. "How is it that you know how to fight like that?"

"I have cousins." She smiled fondly. "All male, all overbearing and rambunctious. They took it upon themselves to teach me how to fight. So I could deal with guys like that."

"Taught you well."

"Some of those tricks I picked up elsewhere." the secret smile was back, the same one she had before she ended things with that guy. He glanced over at her. Driving silently for a minute or two before finally saying.

"You're pretty good with a sword." she smiled at the compliment coming from him.

"And you're not a horrible shot."

"We gonna be friends now?"

"Our fathers are hunting pals." she said lightly not answering him.

"Maybe I could learn to tolerate you, Princess."

"Glad to hear it, Sparky."

Once back at the motel, they sat silently in the car for a minute. He looked over at her, opening his mouth to say something then shutting it again as he changed his mind. She just smiled at him and got out. He got out and stood in the open door.

"Hey.."

"Yeah?"

"If you're gonna be around..."

"Once in a while." She gave him a grin, leaning on the motel door watching him.

"Maybe we should...ya know.."

"Be friends?" Jax volunteered, and he nodded once with a shrug.

"Something like that." She grinned at his round about request.

"You are the strangest man. Yeah. We could be friends." She said finally, and saw him break into the ever present smirk. "Night Sparky."

"Night Princess." He watched her go into her room and smiled broadly at the closed door.

They turned in for the night, the next morning at breakfast, they were at it again. She shuffled to the table and sat down heavily next to Dean, who was smiling broadly at her.

"Good morning Princess."

"Shut up, sunshine." she slid further into the booth, and leaned her head in her hands tiredly. He just stared at her.

"Not a morning person I see?"

"Does your mouth have an off switch?" She looked over at him with a grin and then leaned on his shoulder closing her eyes.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Be a good boy and be quiet."

"I don't see any boy here."

"You kids both be quiet." John said, obviously hung over some. Jax sat up, glancing across the table at him.

"Hard night, John?"

"Yeah." Nothing further was said about it.

John and Tom were talking about something Tom found in the paper from Chicago. And John was pointing to something that he found in another paper. Chicago's event wasn't tragic yet. But the other was. Jax listened as both of them talked about the possibilities. For a moment, she wondered why her dad would want them in Chicago, especially since Aunt Rosa and company probably already knew about it, and had a plan. But then, her dad often did things that seemed weird at first, till later when it all would become clear.

She realized she'd be seeing Dean again. She found that the thought wasn't unpleasant. They had managed to find some sort of ground to build a friendship on. Besides, she was having fun with their insult wars.

"Looks like I'll see you in Chi-town eventually." he said once they were outside.

"Yeah." she smiled. "You'll probably meet my cousins."

"That where they live?"

"Most of them, yeah." John came out and hollered for Dean.

"See ya round, Princess."

"See ya, Sparky." She watched him walk away, a sly grin on her face when he turned and looked back. He smirked and shook his head. She waved and got in the car. Her dad looked at her.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing, Dad. Just looking forward to seeing Dean next time."

"Lord help us if you two join forces." She chuckled and leaned back, settling in for a long ride.


	4. Chapter Three Washington

Chapter Three 3 months later - Washington

They were looking for a needle in a haystack. That's how Dean view it. Someone had conjured a Scafesh demon and it was wrecking havoc on the small mountain community. Ritual sacrifices were also taking place and they hadn't a clue who was responsible. He was at the library going through paper after paper, Sam sat quietly at the table doing the same. He liked it when Sam was with him. Made it go a little faster. Dean was about to grab another paper when he caught a whiff of a familiar perfume, and sensed someone standing behind him. He turned and saw Jax standing there with a grin.

Her long brown hair was curly, pulled back at the sides. Little wisps of hair escaping near her ears. Wearing a tee shirt and jeans that clung to her curves. Dean stared into her deep brown eyes and grinned back. He didn't really knowing how to greet her.

"Whatcha doin' here?" He whispered. She held up the papers that he seen his dad have. "Oh yeah."

"Anything?"

"Nothing yet, maybe Sam's got something." She looked around and her smile brightened when she saw Sam.

"He's gotten tall." she went over and tapped him on the shoulder. Sam smiled broadly and stood up hugging her tightly. She hugged him just as tightly and they sat down, suddenly whispering a mile a minute. He watched the exchange with a tinge of jealously.

She had always written to Sam, since that day they met in the park, Sam thought she hung the moon. Postcards and letters always found him, no matter where they were. Sam kept every one in a box under his bed.

She sent birthday cards and presents for them both, pictures of a city limit sign if it had a funny name or something. Sometimes she send along a care package, full of cookies, treats and some other things. Sam would always share the cookies with Dean and John, but he kept what else was in the box a secret, Dean would always look only to discover it was books. Once she sent tapes of music Sam told her that they liked. She also came to see him, usually when him and his dad were on a hunting trip. Evidence of her visits could be seen.

What Sam didn't know is Dean recently read everyone of those letters. After meeting up with her hunting hell hounds. He had gotten curious about who she was. In the letters, he learned a lot about the woman she was now, how much her and Sam shared between them. She'd always ask about Dean, offer advice on things Sam must have told her. In those letters, Dean found there was a lot more about the woman then he saw that last trip. He had laughed at himself when he thought about how much he wanted to see her again.

Her and Sam had quit talking and now both of them were back in research mode. Dean pretended to research, but was really watching her. He got this feeling when she was around, something he couldn't name. He knew that when she was around, he trusted her. That bothered him. She bothered him, but in a good way. The other girls he flirted with were nothing like this one. Maybe it was just because she hunted too. He looked her and Sam, thoughtfully. Sam trusted her too. He knew that as sure as he was breathing. But Dean didn't know her like Sam did, why would he inherently trust her when other people were viewed as suspect? She glanced up at him, with that brilliant smile in place and he shot one back before turning his attention back to the papers in front of him.

They made copies of what they wanted to take with them, and walked out of the library into the bright afternoon. Sam was talking about something that went on at school, Jax had her hand around his arm, walking along beside him having no trouble keeping up with his long legged brother. Dean was perfectly content walking behind them staring at her ass in the well worn jeans. At least there was something for him to do, he smiled at the thought.

Later on, they sat on the dock. Tom and John had gone to talk to some of the locals. Which meant a bar for John. Leaving Sam, Dean and Jax on their own. Jax sat in a lounge chair, watching the sunset while she dangled a line from a fishing pole in the water. Dean watched as she flicked the line back into the water and lay back closing her eyes.

"You got bait on that thing, Princess?" He asked from his own spot on the dock.

"Nope."

"You ain't gonna catch anything like that."

"Don't plan to." she didn't even open her eyes, just smiled softly and continued to soak in the last rays of the day. Sam smiled at the annoyed expression on Dean's face.

"The point of fishing is.."

"Drink beer?" she said before he finished his sentence. Leaning slightly, she looked back at him. "That's the only reason to fish as far as I'm concerned."

"You don't like to touch them?"

"Don't want to torment them for sport. They're happy swimming around down there, I'm happy leaving them there." He gave her a strange look, not that she noticed, cause she had gone back to her previous position, feet stretched out in front of her and a bottle of beer dangling from one delicate hand. He shook his head and flicked his own line back into the water.

After the sun went down, Sam and Jax gathered up their stuff. Dean watched them through half closed lids with a smile.

"You coming?" Sam asked.

"Nah. I'm good." he said laying on the picnic table. Sam shook his head and went up. Jax was walking past and Dean grabbed her arm. "Where you going, Princess?"

"I'm going to read a while."

"Stay here with me, have a beer." she glanced at the cooler and then at him with a slight smile.

"You're just going to have to entertain yourself. I've also got my heart set on a hot shower."

"I could go with you." He smirked, his eyes still closed but he knew she was scowling at him.

"Wake up, Sparky. You're dreamin' big time." He heard her walk off, he turned his head slightly and smiled as he watched her go.

A couple hours later, she was reading in her room, when Sam knocked at the door. She let him in with a smile.

"Hey Sam." She said happily. "Coming to hang out with me?" he leaned against the wall, watching her get settled on the bed.

"I might just do that."

"What's up?"

"You seen Dean lately?" he asked curiously.

"Not since we left him at the lake."

"He hasn't come back to the room yet."

"Think he went to town?"

"Maybe. I'll just head on back to the room. Read or something."

"You gonna be ok, Sam?"

"Yeah."

"Ok. You can always come back here if you get too bored." She offered with a soft smile.

"I know."

"I'm gonna cruise around for a few minutes. See if he's hanging around."

"I'll be in the room."

"Ok." She went in the direction of the lake. Which is where she found him

"What are you still doing out here?" She looked at the collection of beer bottles he had on the picnic table, and then at him leaned against the top of the table, his legs kicked out off the bench. Beer bottle in his right hand dangling slightly, his eyes scanning the horizon of the lake. Looking like he hadn't a care in the world. He let his head fall to the side to look at her standing there. He looked her up and down and smiled.

"You wanna have a go, Princess?" the suggestive tone made her arch one of her eyebrows at him.

"What?"

"Little rough and tumble. Roll in the hay." she stared at him blankly, he looked annoyed now. "Sex?"

"Why would I want to have sex with you?" she seemed amused with him.

"Cause I'm hot." He smirked. "Women can't resist me."

"I'm sure a lot of them have."

"I notice you're still here."

"You couldn't handle me." She said in a sassy tone. He looked intrigued.

"Bet I could."

"You're not getting the chance to find out."

"Afraid you won't be able to stop yourself, Princess?"

"You're bent." she started to walk away.

"You been peeking?" He called after her. "You know you can't resist me, Princess!" She turned and looked at him. She seemed to decide something and came back over to him. Without a word, she straddled his lap and kissed him, he set the beer bottle down sideways, the contents spilling out onto the ground. His kiss was demanding, rushed, she pulled back, forcing him to slow down. Her finger touched his lips, and she leaned in kissing him slowly, teasing. His hands grabbed onto her waist, pulling her closer to him. Her lips traveled down to his neck, as her hips moved just enough to tease. Dean moaned as he kissed her neck. He brought a hand up to caress her breast. Jax pulled back, locked eyes with him and stood up slowly. Giving him a grin, she suddenly turned and walked away.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Resisting you, Sparky. Merely resisting you." She gave him a smile and went back around the building. He slumped back against the picnic table, cussing under his breath. Then he smiled and started to chuckle. He'd be damned, but she was fun.

The next morning he was his usual charming self. Neither of them mentioned what happened down at the picnic table. Their fathers had a lead on who might be doing the rituals, they were going to check out his house figuring it would be safe to send the kids to check out what they believed was the site of the man's rituals. The fathers couldn't have been more wrong about that.

Dean took the lead into the warehouse, Jax behind him and Sam took up the rear. All three of them were looking around for the room that might be used for rituals. At the end of a hall, there was a choice as to what way to go next.

"I'll head down here, see if there's anything. You two girls gonna be ok by yourselves?" Sam shot him a glare, and Jax chuckled.

"Who's gonna bail you out when you get into trouble?"

"I'll be fine, Princess."

"I seriously doubt that." She grinned when he made a face at her and turned to stalk down the hallway. Sam laughed.

"He doesn't know what to make of you."

"Likewise." Sam gave her a curious look but she didn't notice, as she was brushing cobwebs away from her face. "God, does no one do housekeeping around here?"

"Maid's day off." Sam quipped and she laughed.

"For the last decade." The two made their way down the hallway, checking rooms as they went. A loud bang echoed down 

the corridor. Jax and Sam both looked back down the hall. "Five bucks Dean's found him."

"Or he found Dean." They quickly made their way in the direction of the noise.

"Damn your brother has a talent for trouble, doesn't he?"

"He's proud of it."

"Oy." Was all she said. They came upon a large bay that still housed some ancient machinery. They split up, Sam went left and Jax took the right, as they worked their way towards the back of the bay.

The warlock was holding Dean up against the wall, cutting off his air. Sam and Jax nodded at each other from across the room, and both took off for the warlock, who deflected Jax, but couldn't stop Sam who knocked into the man, making him lose his hold on Dean. Dean sagged to the floor, blood running down one side of his face and he was fighting the grogginess that had threatened to overtake him.

"Dean!" he heard Sam yell out painfully. He looked around and didn't see Jax either.

"Sam." He tried to yell out for his brother, but was still having trouble breathing. A shot rang out, alerting Dean, fear propelled him to his feet and he headed in the direction that he had heard Sam's voice coming from.

He found Jax trying to help Sam to his feet while holding her shirt to the wound in Sam's side. The warlock lay a few feet away, a pool of blood was seeping from the man's back.

"We need to get Sam back, now!" Jax was applying direct pressure to the gash along his ribs, using the shirt to clot the wound, and trying to keep Sam from falling over. Sam's blood was soaking the shirt rapidly, she pushed harder trying to stem the flow of blood. Dean came over and took Sam's other side. They were going as fast as Sam's weight would let them when Jax stumbled and fell. Dean turned to see the warlock standing over her with a knife in a low blade stance with it out to his side about 12 inches next to his thigh.

'_Hell,_' he thought _'that wasn't a knife it looked more like a small dagger.'_ Had a 12 inch curved blade, with blood rivets in the middle. Rather than the blade being the typical chrome, it had a dark stain, making it seemed to be made of shadows, rather than metal. Runes carved into the blade, glowed eerily.

"You shall not leave here." His voice was frightening calm, his dark eyes fixed on Jax while she scrambled backwards away from the man. Dean continued along with Sam leaning on him heavily, he glanced over his shoulder to see Jax had made it to her feet and was walking backwards towards the exit. She had a large cut down the back of her arm, but she was still kicking. Jax looked over her shoulder at him.

"Go Dean!" she yelled and continued her backwards retreat from the man who was advancing on her. Glancing to her right, she saw the pile of wooden pallets that tilted at a precarious angle. She quickly grabbed one and pulled with all her might causing the stack to tumble down, separating her from the warlock who yelled in frustration of losing his intended victim.

Jax turned, scooped up the shirt that had dropped and caught up to Dean and retaking her place on Sam's left side. She pushed against the wound again, trying to buy them time.

"Nice move."

"We gotta hurry. That ain't gonna work for long." She said keeping her ears open for any sound behind them, and her eyes on the door.

They got outside and got Sam in the car. He leaned on Jax, moaning as she pressed the shirt tighter to minimize the blood loss. Dean started the car and had it in gear before he even had his door closed.

Dean made it back to the motel in record time. He slammed the car into park, and bolted from the car, sliding across the hood to get over to help Jax get Sam to their dads. As quickly as they could manage, they took Sam into the room. John was on his feet in a second, taking Jax's spot so she could go get Tom and flash powder that would save Sam's life. No words were spoken as she ran from the room and with a shaking blood covered hand, unlocked the motel room that her and her father shared.

"Dad!" she yelled as she ransacked the bag she knew the powder was in. "Come quick!"

"What is it?" he said coming out of the bathroom.

"Sam. He's hurt! Come on!" she didn't even stop to see if her father was following her as she ran back out the door and down to John's room.

Bursting in the door, she saw Sam laying there, her blood soaked shirt was on the bed next to him. She unscrewed the top of the powder and nudged John's hand out of the way so she could sprinkle it on the wound. Turning she saw her dad coming in.  
"Now, dad." He didn't stop walking, just started the chant that caused the powder to flash and the wound closed with a groan from Sam. She breathed a sigh, and stepped back letting John and her dad take over now. With a look to Dean, Jax put the powder down on the dresser and headed back outside. He took a last look at Sam and headed out after her.

She was angry. He could see it in the way she walked. Her shoulders were set, the intent was clear on her face as she marched towards the car, not even paying attention to the cut on her arm.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to kill that damn warlock." Jax never looked back as she stopped and opened the door to her room. She grabbed the bag just inside the door.

"You mind if I talk some sense to you?"

"That would be a first." Jax didn't look at him, till she shut the door to the room.

"You can not go after that guy."

"I can." With intent she walked towards the impala, Dean following behind her.

"You would be stupid to do it"

"You the expert on stupid?" Her stride never broke.

"He's twice your size." Dean was hoping something would get through the haze of anger she had going. But he didn't know if it was even making a dent.

"Yours too."

"Not the point."

"The only point you have is the top of your head!" she turned abruptly, he nearly slammed into her. She stood staring at him.

"Whoa!" he yelled as his hands went to grab her shoulders to keep from running into her. She stared at him.

"I am going to go and find that bastard, and when I do, and you can bet your ass I. will. find. him." her nostrils flared. He stared back as she continued her anger induced tirade. "I'll be ripping him a new one. You can either help me or get the hell out of my way."

"Jax, he about killed us back there."

"Hence the need for a smack down." she shot at him. "No body messes with Sam!"

"I agree, but you can not take that guy." She narrowed her eyes. He stood staring at her. "I can't take that guy."

"We can take that guy." She moved again, he got in her way. She'd move to the side and he'd step in the way. Finally she sighed heavily and leaned against the hood of the car, her bag dropping to the ground.

"Just stay put." he smirked..

"You can if you want, Dean. I'm hunting that bastard down." Jax stood with her hand on her hip, looking over the car at Dean who was staring back at her.

"I'm not taking you to find that guy." he said finally. Both of them glaring at the other, till she threw up her hands.

"Fine. I give." She bent down, grabbed her bag, putting the strap across her body.

"You're backing down?" He said in disbelief.

"You win." She turned on her heel and started walking away, leaving him to make a face at her retreating back.

"Not by default!" he yelled after her, she waved a hand at him before disappearing into the woods. He stood thinking for a moment. She gave that up way too easy. Jax was no quitter.

"Hold on..." he said as he thought. The wheels started spinning and he took off after her. Once to the other side of the woods, he saw her car taking off out of the spill over parking lot. "Damn it!" he turned and ran for his car. He raced down the highway after her, cursing her for being stubborn. As he expected he saw her car at the side of the road near the warlock's house. He swore and got out of the car, grabbing his gun and taking off towards the house.

He heard the fight before he saw it. Coming into the clearing he saw her going at it with the warlock from earlier. Thankfully, he was still weak from their earlier meeting and was fighting in a more traditional manner. The swords clashed against each other over and over. She fended off his attempt to thrust the sword into her chest easily.

Dean pulled his nine, prepared to fire if needed. Damn her for being so stubborn. He watched her circle the man, looking for a way to take him down.

"You're a foolish girl."

"And you're all talk." she took a swing then, connecting with the man's arm. He switched the sword to his other hand and in the dark, Dean could see the sneer the man shot her way.

"You will not escape again."

"Count it bucko." she defended as she spoke. "I've still got two good arms here. You're down one."

"No matter.."

"If you tell me it's a flesh wound, you best have a British accent while doing it." they kept at it, Dean wondered how long she could keep going. Even injured and weakened the man was stronger than she was. But she just wouldn't quit. He watched her take a hit, she didn't even scream. Just upped her attack, forcing the man back and to the ground. Knocking his sword away, she pulled a zip tie from her pocket and forced the man on his stomach. Dean came to help, but she seemed to have it all in hand. She had a knee in the middle of his back, and had his hands tied together.

"Grab my bag." was all she said, intently watching the man's hands. Dean brought it to her, she dug into it and came out with a jar of something. Sprinkling the contents on the mans' hands, she spoke some words that Dean could not recognize.

"What did you do?"

"Simple binding spell. It'll hold him till Dad can get his hands on him."

"What's your dad going to do?" She looked at Dean's question then back at the man.

"Can't say." She grabbed the man who was resisting being picked up. "Give me a hand here, eh?" Dean started clapping till she shot him a look. Then he bent down and grabbed the other side. They started to the car. The warlock resisting every step till Dean had enough of it and knocked him out with a punch. Jax looked at him, incredulously he shrugged.

"He was pissing me off."

"Feel better?"

"Loads." he looked over at her. "You're riding with me. We'll come back for your car later."

In the car, she tended to her wound. In the dim interior of the car, he could see the grimace on her face. The cut in her arm was pretty deep. He knew it had to hurt, but she didn't even so much as whimper. She had lost a lot of blood from the earlier battle, and now this slice in her arm. He wondered if she'd pass out on him. He pressed the accelerator down and got her back to the motel and her father.

Tom and John were outside when they pulled up. John and Dean took the warlock, Tom helped Jax. Dean checked on Sam, who was awake, but a little tired. Dean told him to rest and headed back outside. He heard her yell, and knew that Tom had used the flash powder on her. When Tom came out, he was putting the powder in a bag at his hip. Tom nodded towards her room.

"She went to change."

"She was pretty cut up."

"I saw. I take it you couldn't stop her?"

"Tried. She wasn't hearing it." Dean said wondering if Tom was angry.

"That's my daughter. Stubborn as the day is long." he smiled broadly. "If you hadn't been there..." Tom trailed off as the door to her room opened and she stepped out. "You did good." he said to her.

"Didn't do it alone. Dean was a big help." Jax noticed his surprise at the comment. She looked at her dad seriously. "Is Sam going to be ok?"

"Yes. Sam's going to be fine. Just needs some sleep is all." Jax nodded with a relieved smile.

"He didn't lose too much blood?" her voice seemed smaller to Dean, like she was afraid of the answer.

"No." her dad put his hands on her shoulders and she looked at him. "You did everything right. You and Dean got Sam back here very quickly, and closing up that wound helped tremendously."

"Ok." She nodded. Her dad smiled and then went into the room. She stood there looking a little lost. Dean was about to say something to her, when her dad came back out, handing her a small cooler.

"Go .." he searched for the words. "Chill out for a while." She looked at the cooler and then her dad. A small smiled started to form as she took the cooler from her dad.

"Look at you trying to be all hip." she gave her dad a kiss on the cheek. He smiled and waved her off. She turned towards Dean as her dad went back into the room and closed the door. He was looking at her intently. "What?"

"I didn't do anything."

"Bull." Jax started walking and turned her head to see if he was going to follow. When he did, she smiled and continued talking. "Not that I want to swell your head or anything, but.." she glanced over to see him smiling warily. "You are one hell of a guy to try to keep up with."

"Meaning what?"

"You've been hunting forever." She headed towards the picnic table. "I've only been doing this a little while. I got the brains for it..not the skill."

"The hell you don't. You took that guy all by yourself."

"Not really. He was already in weak state from tangling with you earlier."

"You're the one who shot him."

"Well, he hurt Sam." She sighed. "If only I had just shot him in the head. "Would have been the end of it."

"Dad said we couldn't kill him." She nodded.

"I know." She looked over at him. "As it was, I just borrowed some guts from you to finish it."

"What?"

"Couldn't have even thought about doing something like that without you there."

"You took off without me."

"Knew you wouldn't just leave a good fight without a solid win."

"Anyone ever tell you that you're weird?"

"Yeah." she grinned. "You." He didn't know what to say to that. She laughed a little and shot him a grin. "Besides, no body messes with Sam."

"No one but us."

"I fully agree."

They sat on the picnic table and she checked out the contents of the cooler.

"What's in it?" Dean asked.

"Some beers." Jax replied, handing him one and then got one for herself. Setting the cooler to the side she opened her beer and put the cap next to her. She took a swig, then took a deep breath. "I am afraid I will fail one day."

"Fail at what?"

"Hunting." She looked over at him, the dim light from the dock illuminating his features. "My fear is that we'll be somewhere, and I'll fail, leaving you, Sam, your dad or my dad wide open to be hurt or worse." She turned her gaze 

back to the lake.

"You know it ain't your job to protect us, right?"

"I know..sounds silly. Like I have any control over anything. But I honestly am terrified of letting you down."

"I don't know that you could." she glanced over at the uncharacteristic serious comment, seeing him staring out at the lake she turned her head back.

"When stuff like this happens...Does it ever make you wonder why we keep doing it?" She didn't dare look at him, knew if she did the conversation would be over.

"It's what we do." Was all he said.

"Why did you start?" Jax sensed a shift in his mood. Looking over at him, he looked deeply saddened. She waited, wondering if he was going to answer her. She already knew the answer. Years of overhearing the Winchester's story from her dad, other's that knew them.

Talking to Sam about it, she learned stuff that no one talked about and found out that Dean himself, never mentioned his mother. She wondered if by his not talking about it, he could pretend it wasn't real. Jax knew that Mary was a topic that wasn't brought up very often in the Winchester family. Even though she was the entire reason they hunted.

She had remembered her dad talking to John, trying to get him to voice his grief to lessen the burden, but John held onto it tightly as if it kept him moving forward. Jax had seen John, wasted on whatever poison he could slug down and in the early hours before dawn, if he wasn't passed out, he cried for his lost love and the next morning would see him and his anger at her loss back with a vengeance.

She had tried on the several visits to Sam, to help him deal with it best she could, which was easier for Sam having no memory of her at all. Jax wondered if Dean had ever had an outlet to vent his feelings on the subject. She looked over at Dean curiously, watching the emotions flicker across his face, and after a long moment, he sighed.

"My mother was killed by a demon when I was four."

"I'm sorry." Jax laid a gentle hand on his arm, pulling it away when she saw it seemed to upset him.

"Happened a long time ago." he said, his voice deadened by his efforts to control his emotions.

"Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt." she said quietly.

"Yeah."

"So, she died and your dad started looking?" He looked over at her as if he was deciding to answer her or not. He merely nodded. "Which means you've been doing this...wow." she tried to appear as if she had never done the math in about his life, to give him a little peace of mind. She couldn't help but to be appalled that he's grown up with John's quest. Her dad said John and the boys were complicated, but she never knew how much it affected both boys. Dean she figured more than Sam, cause he could remember Mary or at least she thought he could and then being the older of the two, he got a lot of things laid on his shoulders.

"Yeah."

"Do you remember her?"

"Bits and pieces. Mostly from pictures."

"I bet she was beautiful."

"Yeah." He moved suddenly, pulling out his wallet. She watched as he dug into the back and pulled out a worn edge picture. He held it like a fragile artifact out to her. She held it to the light and smiled softly.

"She was really beautiful. Is that you?"

"Yeah."

"Such a little cutie. What happened?" she teased lightening the mood sensing his ever growing discomfort with the subject of his mother. Jax handed the picture back, he stared at it for a second before putting it back.

"You should see some of the ones of Sam."

"I have."

"Wha...oh yeah. You've seen him since.." she took notice of the sadness that tinged his voice when he remembered. Almost like that of a child who didn't get asked to play with the other kids. She wondered if being the oldest was harder on him than most other kids.

"Yeah. We talk a lot when I come visit."

"What about?"

"A lot of things." Jax smiled coyly, Dean gave her a look and shook his head smiling about it. He sat and drank his beer silently.

"Dad's always told us to keep this a secret. The hunting." he stopped for a moment, then looked at her. "It's cool to have someone other than family around that knows about this stuff." she leaned on him for a moment in a friendly gesture.

"I'm here for you, too." she said quietly, he didn't say anything. "If you ever feel like venting or whatever. Hope you know that." he sat still, staring at the lake. The statement hung in the air and faded without a response. Not that she truly expected one from him. He liked to keep things in.

"So this friend thing..." he started.

"Yeah?"

"It's nice." she smiled at his comment, then took a drink of her beer and stared at the lake.

"Yes. It is." He smiled at her and stared out at the lake too. They sat like that for a long time.

Sam stood back in the shadows, looking at the two of the people he loved most sitting together. He had woken up wanting to get some fresh air and John let him go as long as he stayed in front of the motel.

Sam had walked to the corner to look out at the lake, when he saw Dean and Jax sitting on a picnic table, talking. Watching them, he had seen Dean show Jax the picture that he thought no one knew he had of their mother. Sam watched as Jax pulled him out of his shell a little. He smiled then headed back to the motel room.

The next morning they all parted ways again. Sam noticed Dean and Jax staring at each other off and on all morning, but said nothing. He knew that if he did, Dean would close up tighter than Fort Knox. He was just happy that Dean had come to realize that Jax was a good friend to have around.


	5. Cheyenne 8 Months Later

Chapter Four 8 months later - Cheyenne

Dean stalked alongside his dad, doing his best to avoid any piles of manure that dotted the ground by the stables. Why his dad had dragged them to a freaking rodeo he wouldn't know. Sam seemed fascinated with the cowboys, horses and the rodeo way of life. But then, Sam liked anything that was different than their life.

It was hot, smelly and he felt like he slipped into a version of the Deliverance movie. His father scanned the crowd and then headed towards a corral that held a horse and rider. The horse desperately trying to unseat the rider, who just hung on tight. Dean was staring at the rider now, something familiar about that figure, the color of the long hair that was flying behind the rider.

"Jax." Sam said just as it clicked into Dean's brain. What the hell did she think she was doing? Tom was standing at the railing yelling encouragement.

"That's it baby! Don't let him throw you!"

"Tom." John said, drawing the man's attention away from his daughter for a moment. Tom greeted John warmly and pointed out at Jax.

"Look at her! Isn't she something?"

"She take up riding broncos?"

"No. They're breaking it." Tom explained. Just then, the horse managed to toss her off it's back, sending her into the air. She came down pretty hard, rolling out of the way before standing, staring determined at the horse. "That's it baby!" Tom yelled encouragement to her, not that she needed it since she looked pretty set it going again. She grabbed the reigns from the handler and got right back on. Almost immediately the horse started to buck again, and Jax just held tighter to the reigns.

"How will they know when they've got it broke?" Sam asked.

"It's gonna take more time." Tom said. "They've been at it little bits at a time, first a saddle, then a rider. Longer each time." Tom looked at Jax. "So, it's just making the horse realize that this is something it has to adjust to."

After a few minutes of this, the horse started to calm down. She smiled broadly and leaned down to talk to the horse and stroke it's neck. Staying on a bit more, she managed to get it to walk back and forth before the handler motioned that was enough for the day. She climbed down and the handler patted her shoulder, smiling at her. She beamed back at him then bounced over to her dad.

"Did you see that! God! What a rush!" She screamed excitedly, as she climbed the fence and kissed her dad on the head. She was covered head to toe in dust and dirt, but she absolutely glowed. She saw John and scruffed his hair. "Hiya Johnny!"

"Hi Jax." His dad gave an amused grin while he patted his hair down. Then Jax jumped down and bounced over to Sam.

"Sam!! You should try that!" she climbed the fence once more and hugged him tightly. "It's way fun!" Then she looked at Dean. "Hey Sparky!"

"Hey Princess. You like getting jerked around?"

"I keep talking to you don' t I?" She grinned and straddled the fence, seeing Tom and John already talking, she shrugged. "Guess it's just us, guys."

"What now?"

"Demon round here. Big one. Dad said he wanted a little more back up." Dean watched her, happily swinging her booted foot back and forth, seemingly made for this environment. But then, she always seemed to belong where ever he saw her. He was about to say something when a cowboy came over and pulled her off the fence into his arms, swinging her around.

"You were awesome, babe!" then he kissed her, and she kissed him back. Dean stared in disbelief for a moment then shook his head. What did he care if she had a boyfriend? But seeing her with that man he felt irritated. She wasn't suppose to have a boyfriend. The last time they'd seen each other, he had thought they were making headway, but maybe it was just him feeling that.

The cowboy set her down, and she smiled up at him. The man stood six foot two, broad shoulders and probably what most women thought of as handsome. Dean eyed him up, unhappy with his appearance and his arm being around Jax like that.

"Oh, Jake this is Sam and that's Dean."

"Pleasure to meet you guys. Jax talks about you all the time." The man smiled and shook Sam's hand, then went to shake Dean's but Dean backed up.

"Yeah. She likes to talk." was all he said, Sam rolled his eyes, Jax looked at him curiously, he shrugged.

"You going with me tonight, darlin?" She tore her gaze away from Dean and looked up at Jake.

"Yeah. It sounds like fun."

"I'm gonna be the envy of every man there." He kissed her on the lips and tipped his hat. "Till later."

"See ya, Jake." She leaned on the fence, and watched him walk away. "Damn, I do so love watching them walk away." She turned to see Sam grinning at her, and Dean was scowling.

"What's tonight?" Sam asking innocently, noticing how Dean was annoyed.

"Dance. Before big events they have a traditional barn dance."

"Yee haw." Dean said sarcastically, Jax ignored his comment but it was ticking in her head as she tried to decipher his behavior.

"It should be a good time." She answered Sam.

"There gonna be a rodeo?" Sam started looking around at all the activity going on around them.

"Yeah. Bull riding, broncs, barrels, calf roping, the whole shooting match." Jax watched Dean as he leaned on the fence, an aggravated look set on his face. "You ok, Sparky?"

"I'm fine, Princess. Don't worry about me."

"Fine."

"Great." He turned and started back to the motel. Sam looked back at him, then at Jax.

"Something going on with you two?"

"I don't know, Sam." She smiled at him softly. "Last time we saw each other, we seemed to really make progress into the friend territory."

"I know. I saw you two down by the lake."

"Yeah." she said staring after Dean. When he turned the corner out of sight, she continued. "But now, he seems...I don't know. Angry?"

"He wasn't till..." Sam was thinking about that and Jax came up with the answer.

"Jake." She thought about that for a minute. "He was fine till Jake walked up."

"He jealous?"

"Don't know." Jax thought about that and found it was a little exciting to think that Dean felt something for her, enough to be jealous.

"Would it be bad if he was?"

"No. I don't think so." She said finally. Sam just nodded thinking about it.

John and Tom hadn't returned by the time Jax left for the dance. She hadn't seen Dean since that afternoon either. Being honest with herself, not seeing him bothered her more than she wanted to admit to. They were friends, that was it, wasn't it? Then why did she get so happy seeing him? Or why did she suddenly worry about what he thought about her?

He was sitting in a darkened corner of the barn, watching people milling about in their western best. Beer flowed like water, everyone seemed to be having a ball. He'd never seen so many buckles in his life. Girls with big hair, and too much make up. He was going to stay in the room, he didn't know why he was here. Something about Jax and that guy bugged him.

If was honest with himself, he'd realize that his feelings for her were starting to become more than a passing interest. She got under his skin, pulled long buried emotions out of him effortlessly. He was sure that she didn't even know she was doing it. If he was a freak, so was she. And for the first time, he started to let himself think about a woman in some other way than a one night stand.

Then he saw her walk in with Jake. White dress, boots. A dress? Jax? He thought he'd die first before he saw her in a dress, but there she was. Dressed like the other girls, but she was definitely not one of the other girls. Jake looked like he was quite proud of himself as he escorted her into the dance. And why shouldn't he be? She was beautiful.

Dean was sure that ol Jake didn't know what a little bundle of dynamite she was, and would probably freak out if he knew what she was really there for. Most people didn't handle the news of the supernatural well. He'd seen it. He had a girlfriend once. Not that it mattered anymore. But he remembered the look on her face when he told her what it was that him and his dad hunted. The shock, the disgust. The worry. The fear. He didn't see her after that. And now, there was Jax...she knew what was out there, still managed to be energetic and enthusiastic about life. He envied that. It also made he consider the possibilities of having someone in his life that wasn't family.

As the dance went on, he couldn't stop watching her. Jake twirled her around the floor and she followed with grace. He shook his head. What was he doing? Why do this to himself? He told himself to get up and go a dozen times, but he never could make himself do it.

The two of them stood at the side of the dance floor by the door. They were talking, Jake was smiling softly at her, touching her face gently. He saw Jake kiss her tenderly on the lips. Something about the way she reacted wasn't right. Like she really didn't want him to be kissing her. Maybe he was wishful thinking.

Jax said something to Jake and they walked outside. Dean followed curiously. They were standing by Jake's truck and she was saying something that made the big cowboy swear.

"You could stay here, with me. You wouldn't have to keep going down the road."

"I love my life, Jake."

"Jax, I know we've only been together for a couple weeks," Jake was saying, Dean raised an eyebrow at weeks. "But I've fallen for you hard, girl. I want you to stay with me. Be my girl. Make a life here with me." Dean saw her shake her head slowly.

"No. My life isn't here. I'm not ready to give it all up."

"What's down the road that so damn important?"

"The things that go bump in the night, Jake. Real evil things that kill innocent people just for kicks."

"Not that spook crap again." Dean frowned at that, moving closer in case she needed him to help her out.

"It's not crap and you know it, Jake Thompson." she sighed. "It's real. And I've chosen to go out and help my dad and the others get rid of it."

"Your daddy can take care of himself, Jax. You're a grown woman. It's time to start thinking about settling down and having a family."

"That ain't gonna happen."

"Cause of the spook stuff?"

"None of your business." There was something more to that statement, Dean would have to find out later. She put her hand 

on her hip and stared up at Jake. "But I ain't giving up what I've chosen to do anymore than you'd give up rodeo."

"I would if you asked." He touched her face, putting a finger under her chin to get her to look at him. "I'd go to hell and back for you if you asked."

"I would never."

"Come on, Jax. Stop being stubborn. I know you feel something for me too."

"I do. But it's not love and it's not anything that's gonna keep me here." She looked up at him. "I'm sorry, Jake. I just don't love you." Dean felt a sense of relief hearing her say that. He sorta felt bad for the cowboy, but only for a second.

"Not yet, but give it time. You and me, we're good together."

"We have a good time. But that's all this is for me. It's all it can be."

"Is there someone else?" Dean watched her face. Something had her thinking. The look she gave Jake wasn't quite right, she was hiding something. Not that Jake knew any different.

"No. I'm just not giving up my life."

"I'll come with you." he said, she laughed softly in disbelief. "Honey I'm desperate to keep you with me."

"When we go to the caves. You'll go..and fight that thing?"

"If that's what it takes."

"According to dad's research this thing is huge, pissed off , hungry and evil. It's not gonna be pretty."

"I'm going with you." He said, but the look on his face said he didn't quite believe her. Dean had seen the notes Tom and his dad had been making, she was right. The demon was not going to be an easy take down.

Jax stood silently, thinking it over. She put a hand to her head and turned around. Jake came and put his hands on her shoulder, pulling her back into him. His head dipped down and kissed her neck. She tilted her neck to the side allowing him more access, Dean about came undone. He knew he should leave, but couldn't quite bring himself to leave just yet.

"Jake. You make me crazy when you do that."

"That was the idea, darlin'." he said with a smile in his voice. "Make you so hot that you forget all this nonsense for the night."

"Nonsense?" Dean knew that tone of voice. She was angry. Jake must have known that tone too cause he stood straight up as she turned to look at him. "Nonsense?" She repeated again. "You're calling my life and the things that I know are out there, nonsense?"

"Easy now, honey. I was just talkin' bout tonight."

"No. You meant it. You don't believe. You think I'm crazy."

"It's hard to swallow, Jax. Demons and ghosts. Like some sort of horror movie come to life."

"Where do you think the ideas come from?" She sighed heavily. "This ain't gonna work at all. When it's time, me and my dad are meeting up with the Winchesters' and we're taking this thing down."

"You mean that lanky kid and the punk?"

"Be careful how you talk about Sam and Dean." She warned, he could see her face, she was angry. Dean was now happy he stuck around, to hear what she really thought of him. He already knew she loved Sam. "They've been through a war already. And deserve your respect."

"To hell they do." he yelled. "They don't look like much, and that rope sucker sure as hell hasn't done anything to earn my respect."

"You and me. We're done." She said and started walking away. Dean moved along behind the trucks, keeping up with her. Jake followed.

"Over them?" he yelled.

"Yes!" she stopped and got in his face. "Over them." Dean saw her hand was balled up, if Jake kept pushing her, he was going to wind up with that fist in his eye. "That's my family! You don't have a right to judge them." Dean was shocked. Family? When the hell had she decided that? Certainly changed the way he thought they could go.

"They aren't blood relation, you can't call them family."

"Yes I can. Doesn't matter if they're blood or not. We take care of each other out there, and you don't get to speak about them like that to me!"

"You said you hardly see them at all and when you do, you and that Dean argue all the time. How the hell can you be so loyal to someone you've said yourself drives you insane?"

"I'm not getting into this with you!"

"Hell if you ain't. You're saying we're done cause I insulted them. So I'd like to know just what they mean to you." He took her by the arms. "I care for you and I ain't letting go without a fight." If he kept grabbing her like that, Dean was gonna give him a fight. She sighed, calming down some. Dean got very interested in the conversation again.

"Sam is like my little brother. I don't need to explain it to you."

"What about the punk?" Jake asked, Dean got closer to hear the answer.

"Dean is..." she sighed, Dean about fell over as he edged closer to them. "Dean's complicated. He drives me insane. True. But he's a damn good fighter, and he knows what's out there. And I don't have to explain things to him, he just gets it."

"You're ..." Jake left whatever it was hanging in the air. Jax just looked up at him and shook her head.

"No. Dean and I are friends." Dean smiled proudly. "I trust him with my life, and I think he trusts me with his."

"But you want..." Dean got closer yet, the small amount of noise combined with the dance drown out the rest of Jake's question. Dean cursed silently, he stared at Jax, seeing her think about whatever that was for a moment before raising her eyes to look at Jake.

"Does it matter if I do?" She said looking away, then up at Jake. "Yeah, he's attractive and all that." She stopped, which drove Dean nuts. He wanted to hear more, what was it that Jake was asking her? It couldn't be what he thought it meant. It 

would change everything between them. He looked at her carefully, watching her square her shoulders and stare at Jake. "Look, right now I'm not looking for a serious settle down relationship."

"You don't want that anyway."

"I do. Someday." she said and he shook his head.

"No, you don't. You'd stay if you did."

"No. I wouldn't." Jax stared at him. "What I need a man who gets it. Who doesn't dismiss the odd out of hand." She paced then stopped to look at Jake. "I'm odd. My family is odd."

"So, you'd rather go on chasing things that go bump in the night than be safe?"

"Safe?" she said incredulously. "No such thing."

"There is Jax. There is home. Ya know, something you go to every night."

"I have a home." she spat back. "My family is home. Where they are, I am. I'm always home."

"A house then. Someplace you go and lay your head down. Raise some kids and grow old."

"That's your dream. Not mine."

"This is crazy, Jax." He said and took his hat off his head, hitting it against his leg. "You are the most stubborn woman I've ever met." He looked at her and stepped closer. "You're also the most exciting. I want to understand this thing you do."

"You'd have to see it to believe it." She planted her feet and put her hands on her hips. "You don't even believe after what you saw."

"I'm going with you."

"You're going to keep all this to yourself?"

"What?"

"All this stuff tonight about wanting me to stay. I need my head in the game."

"Can't make any promises."

"Then you can't go."

"You're going to stop me?"

"I have my ways." She grinned, but Dean knew that smile. Ol Jake wouldn't be going if she thought for a second he'd be a problem. Jake stared at her, as if trying to figure out what she meant.

"I'm going with you." she stared up at him. "I'll leave this out of it. But I'll be damned if you march into those caves without me making sure you come back out."

"I'll come back out. I'm just not sure you will."

"You don't think I can handle it?"

"Not really, no."

"Well, just gonna have to prove that I can stand shoulder to shoulder with you."

"I can't ...do this right now. I need to think." She started to walk away, and stopped when she heard Jake follow. "You need to be away from me right now."

"Jax."

"No. I need to get my head clear. Can't do it with you bothering me." She sighed. "Go home, go back to the party. I don't care, Jake. Just get away from me." She turned and headed off.

"Jax, you can't do this!" Jake yelled after her. "Just leave it like this."

"Yes. I can." she stopped and turned back. "If you have any sort of respect for me, or sense of self preservation, you'll leave me be." She turned and walked off. Dean almost laughed at what she said, he looked over at Jake and saw him sigh. The big cowboy swore loudly and headed back to the barn. Dean stood up and watched Jax disappear into the darkness. He stood silently for a moment, taking another look at Jake pacing near the barn. He could understand why the man was frustrated. Hearing the woman you wanted tell you that you weren't what she was looking for.

Dean pulled his keys from his pocket and headed for the car. He knew it was a little ways back to the motel, Hopefully, Jax would have enough time to cool off by the time he got up to where she was walking. He pulled up behind her on the road. He saw her look back at the car, he opened the door, putting one leg down, he stood up. She put a hand on her hip and smiled slightly.

"What are you doing out here?" Her voice sounded tired to his ears, nothing like he was used to hearing from her.

"Could ask you the same thing." Dean said after a moment. "I went to the dance. Didn't see you and left." She sighed. "Come on, I'll give you a ride back to the motel if that's where you're heading." She nodded and got in. He smiled as he got in. "You look nice." she glanced down and the dress and sighed a little.

"Yeah. Thanks." She said then turned her head to look out the window. He drove them back, parking the car between the rooms. She sat for a moment longer, then looked at him. "I appreciate the ride."

"Anytime." She gave him a soft smile and got out. She went to her door, stood silently for a moment, then looked back at him as he got out of the car.

"Hey...you want a beer?"

"Sure."

"Hang out for a bit." she went into the room and when she came back out, she had changed her clothes. A tank top, a pair of well worn jeans and her boots. He smiled internally, standard issue Jax. He took a deep breath before coming closer to her as she handed him a beer and sat on the bench against the wall, she rested a foot up on the bench and let one of her arms rest on her knee while she leaned back staring out into the darkness across the road.

Dean could almost see her mind working on whatever it was that had her being quiet. He took the space next to her, waiting for her to decide to talk. She sat quietly, taking a swig of her beer once in a while, but saying nothing.

"You ok?" He ventured having gotten tired of waiting for her to talk, not looking at her, he saw her glance over but then stare straight ahead again.

"I'll be fine." She finally said, her tone of voice giving nothing away. "Just a lot on my mind."

"I thought you were at the dance with Jake."

"Was." She said quietly. He sighed, he didn't do this conversation thing well, and she was playing his usual role of non responsive. He was starting to understand just how patient the woman really was when it came to talking to him.

"Something happen?" he tried not to sound like he already knew, he wondered if she'd notice anyway the way she was spacing out tonight.

"Something..." She said distracted, then was quiet for a long moment. She looked at him. "Jake and me...had a little disagreement."

"About what?" Dean tried to sound slightly indifferent, without coming off cold. He decided that he wasn't any good at this talking thing, but remained determined to try, at least for her.

"He asked me to stay." Jax took a drink of her beer and then leaned her head back against the building. "He asked me to stay here, and live with him."

"Really?" he attempted surprise. "You said?" he tried to sound like he didn't already know. If she thought something was up with his behavior, she wasn't saying. She just picked her head up, and shook it slightly.

"No. I said no."

"Thought you liked it here."

"It's fine. But it's not ..." Again, she trailed off leaving the sentence hanging in the air.

"Yeah." He took a drink of his beer using the time to think of something to say. To keep her talking, cause it seemed to bring her out of the funk she was in. One of them being mostly non verbal was enough. "Is there someplace else you'd rather be?"

"No." Jax said it quickly, then she leaned her head back against the building again. "I like my .." she stopped and looked over at him seriously. "our life." he felt a twinge of something in his chest at the remark. She looked back across the road. "I don't want to change it. I don't think I could right now." He stared at her in awe for a moment then gained his composure back. She kept on staring straight ahead. "I don't think I could stay in one spot right now. I like seeing the country. I even like the danger a little."

"You got a death wish?" he grinned at her, she glanced over.

"No." she said looking at him like he was crazed. "But you gotta admit..this..what we do. It's dangerous sometimes and it's quite the rush." She smiled. "I think we'd get bored with anything else now."

"True."

"I don't want to give it up." She turned her eyes forward, into the blackness of the night.

"Then don't."

"Wasn't planning on it."

"Good." he smirked and looked at her. She was staring off into the distance, and didn't see his smile soften. "Cause I sort of like running into you out here."

"You do?" She looked surprised and then her mouth curled up into a warm smile. He smirked at her, loving the fact that he got her to smile again.

"Yeah." He gave her a broad smile, "You're ok for a chick."

"Glad to know I have your approval, Sparky." she nudged him with her elbow, he grinned.

"Easy now Princess. Don't go gettin girly on me or nothing."

"Wouldn't dream of embarrassing you that way." They fell into their easy feeling banter, which made him happy. This was the Jax he liked best. Smiling, happy. The other versions of her were good too, but when she really smiled at him, he felt like everything was right with the world.

"Good." he was about to say something else when a truck pulled in, blinding them with the head lights. When the lights went off, they saw Jake staring at them through the windshield. He got out of the truck, and stood staring at them displeased with what he saw.

"Jax, I need to talk to you." Dean heard her swear under her breath and sigh. She sat quietly for a moment, then he watched from the corner of his eye. She was looking down at the ground, then she stood up. He looked up at her, but she was staring at Jake with an expression he didn't recognize. He quietly slipped away and went for a walk. If they were going to make up, he didn't want be anywhere near it. If they made up the way most couples did, the motel room had thin walls and he didn't want to hear that either.

The next morning Jax met Sam and Dean by the diner at the motel. He watched as she got closer to them, she was dressed in a tank top and jeans, with a shirt thrown over the top. Her boots made slight sounds as she shuffled more than walked over to them. Her long brown hair, hung loose, and she looked tired. Dean figured she made up with ol Jake last night and spent some time at his place doing other things. Things he was trying desperately not to think about her doing. He didn't want to picture her with someone else. But, he hadn't heard anything like it coming from her room, but occasional sound of water running or the TV channel being changed. So he really didn't know what had happened last night.

"Hey guys."

"Hey." Dean nodded at her.

"You look tired." Sam said looking at her concerned. She nodded with a slight smile. Patting him on the shoulder absently.

"Was up thinking till round 4."

"That what the kids are calling it these days?" His sarcastic remark was met with a look from her. He gave her his best smirk and she shook her head with a grin.

"I'd look happy if that was the case, now wouldn't I?" He just stared at her. She didn't look at all happy. Maybe they didn't make up after all. Did she really spend the night alone? He stared at her trying to puzzle it out. She ran a hand over her hair, and patted Sam's shoulder again. "Come on, daylights burning."

"Where we going?" Sam said following her without hesitation. Dean rolled his eyes and followed the two of them, knowing that if he didn't, they would leave him behind. She was good like that. He wasn't going to leave Sam to get hurt. Or at least that's what he was telling himself. He knew she'd never let anything happen to Sam. But if he admitted that right now, he'd have to face the real reason he was going.

"For a little ride." She smiled and put her arm around Sam. "You're gonna love this."

Her idea of him loving it wasn't close. But then, she had been talking to Sam and he did seem to love it. Horseback riding. _'She's out of her mind.'_, he thought for the millionth time as they rode out towards the caves. _'They could have been there by now had they drove, but no. There they were, on horseback.'_ He thought sarcastically. One of these days, he was going to get even with her for this.

Her and Sam were having the time of their life. Talking, laughing. Dean lagged behind for two reasons, the more selfish being he could look at her ass from here, the second being he wasn't sure he could control the animal he sat on if he tried to go faster. And of course, that's the moment she chose to look back and check on him.

"Hey you ok back there, Pokey?"

"I'm fine, Princess."

"Ok." She grinned and spurred her horse forward, her head bent down, they flew along the field ahead of the boys. He saw her take her hat off, throw her head back and let out a happy yell. Her hair flying behind her, she spread her arms out to the side. He saw her reach down grabbing the reigns slowing the horse down. It pranced and hoofed the ground, but slowed down at her insistence.

Sam spurred his horse and in no time had caught up to her. Dean watched as she moved her horse next to Sam's and hug him happily. Sam was smiling broadly. The boy could be so sullen that these moments of joy were captured in Dean's head. Funny how it was easy for her to bring that out in them both.

Dean spurred his horse into a gallop and caught up to them. She smiled as he rode up beside her.

"So you can ride."

"Yeah." No way was he going to let on that he was terrified the last 30 seconds that he was about to fall off.

"Caves just ahead." she said and they rode on silently. Each of them eyeing the horizon for signs of movement. They heard something coming towards them. She turned and Dean heard her swear.

"That the lone ranger?" He said grinning, she rolled her eyes at him and then turned her attention back to Jake getting closer. Dean watched her, she didn't look at all amused by this.

"That the guy who was yelling at you, Jax?" Sam asked almost too quietly for Dean to pick up, but he heard it. What was Sam talking about? Jax just patted Sam on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, Baby Boy." she used the nickname she gave him all those years ago to ease his mind, Sam didn't quite buy the reassurance. "I got this." she spurred her horse and met him halfway. Dean sat watching, it was an argument. He didn't know why that amused him.

"Is Jax gonna be alright?" Sam seemed really concerned about her this morning and with Jake's appearance, he seemed panicky. Dean looked over at his younger brother's distressed expression. He gave a quick pat to Sam's shoulder.

"Jax? She'll kick his ass." Sam didn't seem to buy it and turned his eyes back to Jax.

She tried to ride off, he grabbed her arm, nearly pulling her off her horse. He heard Sam make a noise, but then Jax did a pinch on Jake's arm, and he let go with a yelp Dean heard from where he sat. She pointed back in the direction he came, and turned her horse around, riding back to Dean and Sam without looking to see if he'd gone. He hadn't. He sat on his horse staring after her.

"You ok?" Sam looked worried. She saw the look and sighed.

"I'm all shades of good, Baby boy." She touched his nose gently and gave him a smile. "Let's go on down that way and see what else is going on round here." She started off and Sam followed, with Dean once again lagging behind. He turned to see Jake ride off.

He caught up to them, Sam went a little ahead. They rode silently for a couple minutes.

"Sam said he was yelling at you?"

"We got into a fight last night."

"A fight."

"After you left." She sighed. "Sam heard him and came out."

"What happened?"

"Nothing you need to worry about. I handled it." She quickly glanced at him and then looked ahead. There was something she wasn't saying to him about it, and Sam knew what it was. But he was telling Dean either. It was maddening that the two of them were quiet about this.

They tied the horses up to a tree, and stood staring at the cliffs. The group of them climbed the rock wall and stood at the entrance to the cave.

They peered into the darkness listening for any movement or noise that the demon was nearby.

"Pretty dark in there." Dean said just to break the silence.

"It's a cave, dumbass." She looked over at her shoulder at him. "You expected there to be neon?"

"Smart ass."

"Learned it from watching you." She grinned and he just took a play slap towards her head. She stuck her tongue out at him, 

and Sam just shook his head watching them.

"I don't see any blood here."

"Maybe our darling demon doesn't like climbing the cliff there with its dinner in tow."

"Makes sense." Dean nodded. "We should check it out."

"We got any weapons at all?" She indicated his pack.

"I always travel with weapons." He looked at her. "Don't you?"

"Just one." She pulled her nine from the holster at her side. "But it ain't gonna do much to deter a demon if we happen across it." She re-holstered the weapon and looked back at the cave.

"Can't hurt to have a peek around, maybe map out the caves a little."

"Famous last words." She gave a wry grin and walked into the cave. Sam immediately fell in behind her.

They walked along, the cave getting progressively darker the further in they went. Scanning the flashlights along the path in front of them, and any alcoves they came across, they made their way further into the cavern.

"This thing needs to watch Martha Stewart or something." Dean quipped knocking more cobwebs out of the way, Jax snickered.

"You watch Martha Stewart?"

"No." he shot at her. "But I know who she is."

"Likely story." Sam chimed in.

"One more word, Sammy and we'll talk about those special shows you watch." Dean warned. Jax chuckled a little and Sam groaned.

"Sam watching PBS again?" she reached back and grabbed Sam's shoulder reassuringly. He gave her a smile.

"Yeah. PBS. That's what we'll call it." Dean's tone was amused. They heard a growl echo off the walls and stopped trying to figure out where it came from.

"Somebody's home." Sam breathed.

"Let's get a look at who." Dean said and started forward again. Jax shook her head as it dropped a little to her chest, and glanced over at Sam.

"Remember you asked me once how we wound up in so much trouble?" Sam nodded. "I think we have an answer." Sam chuckled and they started forward after Dean.

Jax stopped behind Dean as he came to a large cavern, they looked around for signs of occupation. She looked down over the edge, and shined the light down. Nudging Dean she pointed down, he looked at the piles of bones she saw and glanced around again.

"Found the dining room." Dean said, she looked over at Sam looking at the cave walls that had some drawings on them.

"We heard something, it's gotta be here somewhere." Jax breathed looking around, not wanting to get snuck up on by it.

"Maybe we should've called." Dean grinned at her, she was going to say something when she saw it coming out of the shadows in front of him.

"Go Sam!" she shouted, causing Sam to turn and see the demon coming out of the dark at him. Both her and Dean stepped towards the demon, trying to get in between it and Sam. Sam was walking backwards slowly, watching the demon get closer to him. She threw a rock at its head hoping to scare it off. It turned its attention from Sam to them. Sam bolted down the corridor, Jax glanced back to see that he was getting a good head start and followed. "Come on." Dean followed looking over his shoulder at the massive demon that started to chase after them. It had to be 7 feet tall, he thought. Brown in color, and looked slimey.

"Damn thing could play NFL."

"That thing could take a tank." She yelled back.

"It's gaining on us." Dean yelled before she heard the first shot. "And bullets don't seem to do much." It growled.

"It pisses it off." She pulled her weapon and started firing rounds into it hoping to slow it down.

They fired round after round into the demon, but nothing was making a dent. Dean yelled in frustration as they ran down the corridor of the cave, the demon hot on their trail. He reached into his pack as they ran, pulling a grenade out. Pulling the pin, he tossed it back. It exploded caving in some of the corridor in the demon's path. But not stopping it.

"How many more of those you got?" Jax yelled keeping an eye on Sam ahead of them.

"How many you need?" He grinned.

"Give me one, we'll throw two. Trap it behind the rubble." Dean nodded slightly, reaching in grabbing one and tossing it to her, watching as she caught it on the run. Then grabbing one for himself. They looked at each other.

"One...two...three" they counted it off together, pulled the pins and turned tossing the grenades, both hitting around the same spot.

"Sam! Duck!" She yelled. They ran even faster just before it exploded. Hitting the ground, Dean scrambled up to cover Jax's head as debris rained down on them. When the major stuff had fallen, Dean rolled off her slightly, to the side, they both looked back at the pile of rubble, then at each other. Each got a broad smile.

"It worked." they said simultaneously. They got up, both stared at the pile a second longer then hugged him suddenly.

"I could kiss you and your destructive tenancies!" He looked at the excitement on her face, startled for a second by the way she looked at him, then smirked. She let him go as fast as she had grabbed him and ran over to Sam. "You ok, Baby boy?" she helped him get to his feet, and watched as he was brushing himself off.

"Yeah, I'm good." He looked at Dean suspiciously. "I'm not going to ask where you got those."

"Probably a good idea." Dean said watching Jax put a hand to her head, thinking now.

"Ya know, that ain't the end." She looked at Dean evenly. "It's still kickin' behind that wall of rock and it will get out."

"I know." Dean looked back at the pile and then at his brother, standing close to Jax. He thought it was funny how Sam would always keep her close by when they were in the same area. But today, he seemed intent on keeping her by his side. In all the excitement he had forgotten the puzzle about what had happened with Jake to make Sam react that way.

"Dad's gonna be pissed." Sam said staring at the pile.

"Yeah." Dean looked back at the pile and sighed. "We'll be moving all this tonight."

"Nope." Jax grinned. "This is a back entrance, remember? So we've just trapped it." She started to walk out, Dean stared after her as she went out of the cave into the sunshine.

She was standing on the cliff, looking out over the land. Dean came to stand beside her, noticing the rip in her shirt and the bruises almost hidden under the dirt from the cave. He looked closer and saw finger marks. He moved the fabric aside and saw the extent. Jax jerked her arm away, but didn't say anything.

"Jake?" Dean didn't need to say more than that, and he didn't need her to answer him really. He saw it on her face.

"Leave it alone." Dean looked back at Sam who was looking around the entrance to the cave for god only knew what.

"No wonder Sam's been sticking so close to you today. He saw it didn't he?" he kept his voice down and she looked over at him, the expression unreadable.

"Don't worry about it."

"Jax, he put bruises on your arm." The whispered tone climbed an octave.

"I'm well aware of that." She hissed, glancing over at Sam.

"It ain't right."

"I never said it was."

"You didn't kill him?" he asked in amazement.

"You know he's not a demon, right?" she raised a brow at him, her expression unchanged.

"Doesn't matter. He shouldn't get away with that."

"He's not."

"He didn't look bruised from where I sat."

"Dean. Please." She begged quietly, it was the first time he noticed her eyes were starting to glaze over with tears. "I do not want to make a thing out of this like I'm some freakin wimp who needs your protection." She stalked off suddenly. Dean stared after her. He heard the slight shake in her voice, and saw the way she hugged herself as she walked away. He should just leave it. But this was Jax. One of them. A wimp would never be a term used to describe the woman who he just saw go toe to toe with a demon, and toss a grenade like an expert. He ran after her, catching up and getting in front of her making her stop and look at him.

"Wimp doesn't fit."

"DeanY" her voice almost broke and she looked away from him, taking a deep breath. "I didn't want you to know."

"Afraid I'd kick his ass?"

"Afraid you'd see me as weak." That one shocked him. But her pride was already shattered from him knowing about what Jake had done, so she figure if she was going to lose his respect, she'd at least be truthful.

"Why?"

"If I can't defend myself against one freakin cowboy, then how was I going to hunt with you?"

"I've seen you. You've got no worries about me seeing you as weak." She glanced over at him, surprised by the honesty he answered with. Not a trace of sarcasm in his voice. An honest moment, with a serious answer. From Dean Winchester. She started to smile. She would've thought pigs would've flown first. "There it is." He said seeing it. "Come on before Sam comes around and thinks I made you cry."

"Afraid of Sam?"

"The little bitch gets mighty determined about things he loves." Dean said wryly, she chuckled.

"Yeah."

They walked back and found Sam staring at the horizon. Dean and Jax looked where he was looking and saw the storm clouds moving in fast.

"We gotta get out of here before that gets here." Jax said starting down the cliff wall. Dean and Sam followed. The rode back to the stables, the rain starting to fall before they made it back. By the time they reached the barn, they were soaked. Jax and the other stable hands put the horses up, Dean stood in the doorway of the barn watching her. When she came over and leaned against the frame, he turned to watch with her as the rain came down, splattering on the ground. She seemed to stare out at nothing for a long moment, before sighing and resetting her position against the frame.

Her hair was hanging loose down her back, still wet from the rain. She had long since replaced the tattered shirt for a sweat shirt. He knew she was hiding her arm from view. Sam was in the back of the stables looking at all the horses. Dean looked back to see if Sam was out of earshot then looked at Jax.

"Look. You got nothing to worry about."

"Meaning what?" she didn't look over, but her posture stiffened slightly.

"About Jake."

"I'll handle it." She said stiffening up some.

"You don't have to alone." she turned her head to look at him then.

"I know." she said locking eyes with him, seeing his skepticism. "I do. I just want to handle this myself."

"Why?"

"To prove to myself that I can." It was a simple answer, he got it. He could get behind that particular argument, and knew what she meant.

"Ok." He replied simply.

"Ok?" she questioned not believing he was giving up on the conversation.

"Yeah, Princess. I get it."

"Thank you." she looked back out at the rain, he smiled broadly and made his tone of voice light.

"If you wanna be butch chick. Fine."

"Dean..." he looked at her, usual smirk in place. She just shook her head. "Punk."

"Wench." They stood staring out at the rain and Dean could almost feel her relax beside him.

"Thanks." She said quietly.

"Yeah." Dean couldn't think of anything else to say to that. Sam came walking up then, sparing him from having to say anything else.

"We gonna tell dad about that demon?"

"Yeah." Dean said with a grimace thinking about John's reaction.

"Just thinking about how much body armor we're going to need to do that." Jax grinned. "Our dad's are gonna be pissed."

"No kidding."  
"Bright side?" Jax started causing both boys to look at her. "We've put some holes in the thing, it might be an easier take down later." Dean shot her a look and she tried for a bright smile. "What? It could happen."

"You just jinx it."

"You honestly don't believe in that mumbo jumbo." She said and saw Sam looking at Dean curiously.

"Doesn't matter now. It goes bad tonight, I'm blaming you." Jax stuck her tongue out at him and Sam laughed as he walked over to a horse that caught his attention.

"Don't stick it out, unless you intend to use it." Dean grinned at her slyly and she shook her head.

"Pervert."

"Yeah." He said proudly. They motioned for Sam and started back for the motel.

Tom stood staring at the three of them when they came walking up to the motel. He leaned against the door and waited till they were in front of him to crack a smile.

"So, your recon went bad, huh?"

"How did you …?" Jax started to ask. Dean and Sam looked surprised too.

"John was out there today, planning on doing the recon himself. But apparently you all beat him to it."

"Is he pissed?" Jax asked curiously.

"No." Tom smiled, glancing behind him to see if John was nearby. "I think he was pretty proud of the three of you, actually."

"Huh." Was all Jax said. "Well. That thing is huge. I think you're right about the kind of demon."

"What color was it?"

"Brown." Dean injected. "Slimy."

"Sounds like the right one." Tom nodded. "We have to hack it's head off."

"No more explosives for you, Sparky."

"Sure. Spoil my fun."

"I'm shower bound." Jax gave her dad a smile.

"We'll go to dinner when all of you are ready."

"Where's our dad now?" Sam asked, Jax hung out in the doorway of her room to hear the answer.

"Ya know, he didn't clear his schedule with me." Tom gave Sam a grin. "But, we'll be just fine without him."

"Ok." Sam went to the room, under Dean's watchful eyes. Once he was inside, he looked at Tom.

"He's at the bar?"

"More than likely." Tom answered. Jax saw Dean's face flicker some emotion but it was gone in a split second.

"Ok." He answered, and Jax went to take her shower before anything else got said.

They went to a little café, and sat in the corner booth. Tom sat next to Jax, and Sam sat across from her. Tom tried telling some jokes to lighten the boys mood, but it didn't really work. Both Dean and Sam were in a funk of some kind. Jax just nudged her dad, and he saw her shake her head almost imperceptibly.

"Your aunt called today."

"What did she want?" Jax poked at her salad.

"Wants us to come there."

"We'd never leave if she had her way." Jax sighed and took a sip of her water. "Love the woman to death, but I need several months away from her just to lose all the weight I gain from visiting."

"She's a good cook?" Sam asked finally showing a little life.

"I've told you about Aunt Rosa, haven't I?"

"I think so."

"She tries to feed everyone as if they're starving to death." Jax grinned. "She a lunatic cook."

"She means well." Tom added. "Rosa has always thought Jax was too thin."

"She would think Santa Claus was too thin." Jax gave a wry grin, and Sam chuckled. Jax perked up hearing that. "It's true. She's like a sumo wrestlers dream cook."

"She's not that bad."

"You manage to avoid her by hanging out with Sal and the guys." Jax grinned at him. "You know Sal shoos her off anytime she comes to his little clubhouse."

"Self preservation."

"Yeah. See? I knew it." They continued the banter and finished up with dinner. Tom left them at the motel and headed off to find John.

Sam and Jax hung out and watched a movie, Dean disappeared for a while. When the movie was over, Jax hugged Sam goodnight and went out to go to her room. She found Dean sitting on the bench outside, staring across the road at nothing. She took a seat next to him and sat quietly for a moment.

"You ok?"

"Yeah." He answered after a moment.

"Just doing some thinking?" she asked quietly, he nodded slightly.

"Yeah."

"Ok." She stood up. "I'll leave you to it then."

"Jax." He called as she opened her door.

"Yeah?" she stopped and looked back at him.

"Thanks for asking."

"Anytime, Sparky." She saw him crack a smile. "You should get some sleep. We got a demon to take out tomorrow."

"Yeah."

"Night." She said softly.

"Night." He returned with a smile.

Final research was looked over, and they gathered up their things preparing for leaving. Tom and John stood by the car discussing something while waiting for the kids to gather. When they got to the car, both fathers smiled and motioned for them to get in. They rode out to the caves in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Jax and Dean headed forward into the darkness, senses on heightened alert for sounds of the demon. Both of them volunteered to go in after the demon, John and Tom having both agreed to it. Dean's serious expression was one Jax had come to call his hunting face. In the dimness of the lanterns they carried, she studied him for a moment.

He was a fierce hunter. Somewhat of a daredevil at times, unless Sam was around, then the cautious part of him emerged as he took it upon himself to make sure nothing happened to Sam. That same characteristic was starting to become part of their hunts as well. Whether John told him to or he chose to on his own, he looked after her in a similar fashion. She smiled softly, thinking that he'd never admit to that in a million years, on either case. He may look out for her and Sam but he certainly didn't want attention called to it, or to be thanked for it.

"What are you smiling at?" he asked after a moment.

"Nothin." She smiled.

"I don't believe you for a second."

"Wise man." She gave him a grin and went ahead of him down the corridor.

"So what was it about?"

"Nothing, Dean. Let's find this damn demon and kill it, shall we?"

They heard a growl and nodded. Raising the lantern, she saw they were in a large cavern that had a large hole in the middle with platforms of rock jutting up in various places, and ledge running all the way around the hole. She looked over the edge down into the blackness.

"Don't even want to know what's down there." She said backing up some, Dean glanced over the edge.

"Ditto." He looked at her and then back at the hole. "Ya know, if it comes down to it, we can always toss the demon down there."

"Might work. But what if there's a way out? Then we'll just have to come back here."

"Yeah. Damn it." Dean sighed. "Well, let's find it and kill it."

"We could make it come to us." Jax said looking around.

"And what? Play keep away with a slimy demon?"

"That might work too, since our ammo didn't make much of dent last time."

"We didn't have enough time to see if it would." He said thinking about it.

"True. So we hide out behind those rocks, lure it in, blast the snot out of it." Jax noted every place they could hide if they needed it.

"And keep moving in the meantime."

"Yeah." She grinned.

"How do we get it here?"

"I'm sure it remembers the ones that got away."

"Jax!" they both turned at the sound of Jake's voice.

"Or, just have one dumbass redneck be bait." Dean said.

"What is he doing here?"

"Jax!" he called again and they heard the demon growl again, closer this time.

"Damn, he's gonna get his ass killed." Jax's voice was tight

"Or us." Dean looked at her and she nodded.

"I'll get him." Jax started off in the direction of the corridor when the demon came out of the darkness almost right behind her.

"Jax! Move!" Dean shouted, making the demon turn in his direction. She turned just in time to see Dean backing up and start firing bullets into it. Jake came up behind her, taking her by the arm.

"Come on, we need to get out of here." He said trying to pull her back down the corridor with him.

"Not a chance in hell. You wanna go, go." Jax yanked her arm free of his grasp and started towards the demon. Jake grabbed her again and tried to pick her up, she kicked him hard in the leg and he let go.

"Damn it!" he yelled gaining the demon's attention, it turned and headed towards them. Jax pulled her gun and started firing, aiming for what she thought were the knees, hoping to disable it. She ran around the hole, putting some distance between her and the demon. She looked around and saw Jake swinging his rope, as if he was roping a calf at a rodeo. It took all she had not to shoot him too. He was about to let it go, when the rope hit some rocks overhead, sending a bunch down, causing enough noise to get the demon to turn on him. He stopped swinging, dropped the rope and ran back the way he came in.

Dean started firing again, running backwards around the ledge. He was doing good till he tripped on a rock laying in the middle of the path. He stumbled over it, and fell just as the demon caught up to him. It picked him up off the ground and started to smack him against the wall.

Jake's rope lay forgotten 10 feet away, Jax grabbed it and started swinging like that cowhand tried to teach her to do. She just prayed it would work and wouldn't be too late. She let the rope go and it landed on the demon, she pulled hard, causing the demon to abandon its attack on Dean and start in her direction. She pulled her gun and put every bullet in the clip into the steadily advancing demon. She glanced to her left, seeing a platform of rock she could jump to, betting her life on the idea that the demon couldn't follow her there. Without hesitation, she jumped, landing on the stone platform, stumbling over the loose rocks and falling. She scrambled to her feet quickly, looking around the cavern best she could in the dim lighting of the oil lanterns. The gap between where she was and Dean was pretty wide, but the only other way back to him was blocked by the demon who was trying to get to her. Before it could give up and return to Dean, she took a running start and jumped over to where Dean was on his feet, but leaning against the wall. She hit the wall to stop, it hurt like a son of a bitch, but there wasn't time to look at the damage.

"We gotta move, Sparky." She said putting herself under his arm and heading down a corridor.

"Grenades." He said as they moved quickly down the corridor, hearing the demon behind them.  
"You up to it?"

"Hell yeah." He moved his arm and dug into the bag. Tossing her one, they both nodded as they pulled the pins and tossed them back down the corridor. They ditched into an alcove just as the grenades detonated. Debris rained down, and the demon howled.

In the darkness, Jax heard his breathing and knew he was still alive but hurt. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, she felt around in her pack for a flashlight. Having taken a beating, it only lit up for a moment, giving her an idea of where they were before it flickered out.

They were trapped. The grenades had collapsed the wall behind them, but they were trapped at the back entrance to the cave, which they had detonated earlier. The demon was injured badly, but still alive. She could hear it behind the rubble, howling in displeasure and pain. Jax cracked a glow stick about the same time as Dean. She stared at him.

"Of all the stupid things I've seen you do, Winchester, that one takes the freaking cupcake!"

"Just what the hell did you think you were doing, Princess? This ain't no god damn rodeo!"

" Kept it from smacking the snot out of you some more, didn't it? And like you'd know what the hell a rodeo was. "

"I'm smart enough to stay the hell away from the gomer convention!"

"I'll tell you what, those gomers' got a hell of a lot more brains than you do!" she started for the other side of the cave.

"We ain't done, Princess."

"Ta hell we ain't."

"We're trapped in here."

"I'll fix it." She said climbing to the top of the rubble at the back entrance.

"Our dads know we're in here."

"If you keep talking, they'll only find one of us alive."

"Is that a threat."

"A promise!" Jax never looked back as she started tossing rocks off the pile, throwing them in his general direction.

"Hey!" he yelled as he had to jump back out of the way.

"Get the hell out of the way, bitch." she snapped and kept working at the wall. He leaned against the back wall and watched her. Anger had that girl motivated, he had to give her that. But eventually that anger wore out and she sighed heavily, tossing another rock off to the side.

"You done throwing things at me?"

"Come over here and find out." She said wryly as she came off the pile, and sank down on a ledge. He chuckled.

"You're a piece of work."

"You too." She leaned back against the wall and sighed. He came over and sat next to her, handing her the water bottle from his pack. She looked at him with a wary expression and shook her head slightly, as she took it. "Thank you."

"Can't let you die." He said with a grin, "Tom would kill me."

"Cause of course, you wouldn't miss me at all."

"Not a bit."

"You'd be wonder boy again." she grinned broadly at his expression. He saw her hands in the dim light of the sticks, they were cut up, bleeding from her earlier outburst of throwing the rocks. And he saw the cut on her cheek where she hit the wall after jumping over to him.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine. Pissed but fine." She looked up at him, saw the blood running down the side of his face. "You?"

"Same."

"Damn...stubborn stupid men." she said coming off the wall, and started pacing.

"You gonna start throwing things again?"

"Nah. Just damn it!" She kicked a rock at her feet. "I told him to stay away from me. Far from here."

"He's probably wanting to kiss and make up." Dean waggled his brow slightly with a leer.

"That's all you men think about it, isn't it?"

"You like it to." He grinned. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Yeah...it's the only thing that keeps me from switching teams entirely." They heard the demon howl again. "We gotta get through before he does."

"Yep." He got up knowing what had to be done. "By the way, this is so totally your fault." She laughed as she started tossing rocks off the pile again.

"I'll never jinx you again." She chuckled and they continued to work on the pile.

He didn't know how long it took them, but they managed to get through a small hole at the top of the pile. He watched her wiggle through and then went after her. Sam was on the other side hugging Jax, he was covered head to toe in dirt. A pile of rocks were off to the side.

"I thought you were dead."

"No, Sam. We're all shades of good."

"I heard the explosion."

"Boom Boom Winchester here got carried away." She jerked a thumb in Dean's direction. He just gave her a nudge as he went by.

"That guy came running out of there without you." Sam said, he was as disgusted with Jake as Dean was.

"I know." Jax said as they started back to the other entrance. "Not everyone can do what we do." Dean glanced back at her then kept climbing the ridge that would lead them back to their fathers.

"Were you trying to dig us out, Sammy?" he asked without looking at his brother.

"Dad and Tom wouldn't let me go in after you the front way." he pouted and Jax laughed hugging him to her.

"How did Jake get past dad and Tom?" Dean asked curiously.

"He was already at the cave entrance when we saw him." Sam said. "He didn't listen to either of them and kept going in." Dean and Jax shared a look and kept walking.

They made it back, caught their breaths as Tom and John discussed another plan of attack since the first didn't work. Jax and Dean rummaged through their collective weapons looking for anything large enough to put a hole in the beast.

Dean came up with a sawed off shot gun, Jax had one of her own. They showed each other and grinned.

"Great minds think alike." He said pocketing the shells. She put her box in the bag at her side and together they turned heading for the cave entrance. Their fathers watched them approach.

"I think the kids got an idea."

"Looks like." John agreed and they waited for them to reach them. "Old fashioned firepower?"

"Yep."

"I'm taking an axe, but I'm knocking that thing down to manageable level."

"What makes you think you're going to?"

"First one to make it fall, wins." She challenged. Dean stood up and stared her in the eye.

"Bring it on, Princess." Their fathers just smiled at them.

"We waiting for an invitation?" She said not willing to break eye contact first.

"No."

"Let's go, Sparky." Together they turned and walked into the cave, leaving Sam, John and Tom outside.

"Those two are one hell of a team when they set their heads to it."

"Imagine the damage the two of them could do?" that comment sent both fathers into silent thought. Sam grinned and settled himself to wait for them to return.

Shots rang out 15 minutes later. Sam watched the cave intently. The steady rhythm of the shots indicated the two of them were working together, one taking shots while the other reloaded. When the shots stopped, the demon's howl was heard. When the two of them came back out, they were covered in blood, and dirt but grinning like they won the Superbowl or something. Their fathers smiled and turned walking back to the cars with the kids.

Back at the motel, there was celebrating going on. Jax was watching the partiers with a small smile. Dean came to stand behind her.

"What's the big deal?"  
"Oh, one of them took first place."

"Which one?"

"Probably the one with the neck brace." She smiled as he shook his head at that. They went in and got cleaned up. John and Tom headed down to the bar and Sam, Jax and Dean were in the boys motel room, hanging out. Sam and Jax were laying on the bed, resting against each other watching TV when Dean opened the bathroom door. He stood looking at them for a moment. Sam had the pillows behind him, propped up against the headboard, with his arm around Jax, as she laid on his chest, her hand laying on his stomach. The two of them looked happy, and comfortable. A scream from the TV had Jax turning her face into Sam.

"Tell me when it's over." Came her muffled plea and Sam laughed.

"You still can't watch this movie without hiding."

"It's scary."

"You and Dean just took out a big slimy demon and you're hiding from Jaws?"

"It's creepy." She whined and Sam laughed as he hugged her. "Well it is. Sharks aren't evil, they just eat things."

"Then why do we keep trying to watch this?"

"It's fun?" Jax grinned up at Sam, then saw Dean standing there looking at them. "Hey Sparky. Come watch with us."

"Are you gonna hide at all the good parts?"

"Probably."

"You're something else." He laughed, snagging the pillows off the other bed, tossing them to the other side of Jax. She arranged them for him. Settling back against the headboard to watch with them. Dean got comfortable and they started watching the movie again.

Sam had just gotten up to go to the bathroom and another scary part of the movie was coming up. As soon as the music started that announced Jaws was coming, she flipped over and hid her face against Dean. He looked down at her with a smile as he moved his arm so he could rest it on her.

"You can't see it from there." He teased.

"I know it's coming. It's gonna get the guy." She peeked out just as Jaws came out of the water after the victim. She squealed and hid her face again. "Oh he got him!"

"How many times have you guys seen this movie?"

"We've seen it at least 15 times." Sam said coming out of the bathroom. "She hides every time." Sam laughed as Jax picked up her head to glance back at the screen.

"Well, it's fun to be a little scared."

"The demon wasn't enough for you?"

"That's more fight for your life kind of scared. This is.. different." The brothers just smiled at her and Sam got resettled. They watched the rest of the movie with Jax alternating who she hid behind at the scary parts. When the end of the movie came, though, she was watching intently.

"This doesn't scare you?"

"Cause the shark is gonna fry." She grinned broadly making the boys laugh. When the credits started to roll, she got up.

"You going?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty wiped." She looked at Dean. "How's your head?"

"Good."

"You're not feeling sick, or dizzy?"

"No."

"Good." Jax smiled and then gave them a wave. "Well, night guys."

"Night Jax." They called back and she went out. Dean looked over at Sam.

"She hides every time?"

"Yep." Sam nodded and got the rollaway ready for him to sleep on. "I thought she'd stop after the second time we watched it, but no. So now, it's just funny."

"She's a little different."

"Yeah. She is." Sam smiled. "But I like it." Dean nodded and got ready for bed. He liked it too.

The next morning, Dean watched as Jax got into the car with her dad. She gave him a wave, which he returned. He felt a twinge of something deep in his chest as he watched her go. He shook his head figuring the loss of blood he'd suffered the day before was just hitting him now. When he turned he saw Jake standing there.

"Do me a favor, Winchester."

"Why would I do that?" he glared at the man. The guy who dared to put a mark on Jax, was asking for a favor, and chickened out on her, leaving her to face the demon alone.

"Cause you care about her too." Jake said, his eye flickering to the direction she left in. The man looked lost. Dean just nodded slightly.

"What's the favor?"

"Look after her. Don't let her die out there."

"We always look out after our own."

"Take special care of her, though. She's one hell of a woman." the big cowboy looked like he might cry. "Maybe someday, she'll get to thinking that..." Jake trailed off, remembering that Dean was standing there. "Just please. Take care of her for me." With that the man turned and walked away. Dean's usual sarcasm was itching to say something, but his better sense made him keep the comment to himself. Sam walked up and stood next to Dean, watching Jake walk away.

"What did he want?"

"Asked if we'd look after Jax for him."

"Did you tell him we look after her for us?" Sam sounded angry, Dean couldn't disagree. Jake wasn't exactly the guy that they owed any favors to. They'd look out for Jax, cause they knew her. Sam loved her. Dean thought about why he would always look out for her, he found the answer had changed on this trip. He shook his head of the thought, and patted Sam on the shoulder.

"Come on, Sammy. Dad's probably ready to roll."


End file.
